Template

Board meeting template

Highlights, the numbers, the asks, and the votes — in that order.

90 minutesFor Startup founders and their boardsAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. Highlights since the last meeting10 min
    • What are the three things the board should know?
    • What went wrong since last time?
  2. Revenue, spending and runway25 min
    • How many months of cash are left at this rate?
    • Which number missed the plan, and why?
  3. Product and team20 min
    • What shipped, and what did customers do with it?
    • Who joined, who left, and which role is hardest to fill?
  4. What we need from the board20 min
    • Which introductions would help most?
    • What decision do we want your view on before we make it?
  5. Decisions to vote on15 min
    • What exactly are we voting on?
    • Does anybody have a conflict?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Numbers. Revenue 8% under plan; fourteen months of cash at this rate.

What we need. Introductions to two enterprise buyers in logistics. Noah makes them this week.

Vote. Option pool increased by 2%. Approved: four in favour, none against.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Early stage, three peopleForty-five minutes. Highlights, cash, and what you need. Keep votes for when the law requires one.
Quarterly instead of monthlyTwo hours, with thirty minutes on one big question the company is facing.
A written update between meetingsThe same five headings on one page, sent monthly, so the meeting itself is spent on questions.

When to skip it. You usually cannot — most companies have to hold them. If nothing needs deciding, shorten it and send the numbers ahead.

Questions

What goes on a board meeting agenda?

Highlights, the numbers, product and team, what the company needs from the board, and the decisions to vote on.

Do board minutes need every word?

No. Minutes record what was decided and how people voted, not everything that was said. Keep the full transcript private and write the minutes from it.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Investor update callFor the people who put money in: the numbers, what went wrong, and what you need from them.Nonprofit board meetingFor a charity or association board: approve the minutes, the money, the reports and the votes — in order, and on the record.Annual general meeting (AGM)The yearly meeting of members: the year's report, the accounts, the elections and the votes the rules require.Investor pitch meetingA first meeting with an investor: ten minutes of pitch, plenty of time for their questions, and a clear ask at the end.Client check-inWhat changed, how it is going against the goals you agreed, and what is next.BrainstormLots of ideas first, judging second — and pictures drawn from what people say.Office hoursPeople bring questions; you answer them live, and the answers are written down for next time.Skip-level meetingA conversation between a manager and somebody two levels down, to hear what does not travel up on its own.

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