How to Create a Board Deck (with Template)

Startup founders are pulled in a hundred different directions on any given day. On top of building a product, hiring a team, fundraising, selling, and more, founders are responsible for managing relationships with investors and board members.

Oftentimes, preparing for a board meeting can get buried in the list of to-dos. However, when leveraged correctly, your board members and meetings can be a high leverage activity for success. 

As Matt Blumberg, CEO of Bolster, puts it, “​​Leading a world-class board is one of the single most important things startup CEOs can do to help their businesses thrive and become industry leaders.”

In order to best help you prepare for your next board meeting, we’ve put together a list of resources and tips to help you build and share your board deck. Learn more below.

Related Resource: Our Downloadable Board Deck Template

The goal of a board of directors can be boiled down to helping a company achieve its goals. While there are certainly more areas, a board, especially for startups, are fit to help in a few key areas:

• Hiring and recruiting employees
• Provide direction and strategy for the company
• Represent other investors and members of the business
• Build a governance system 
• Maintain relationship with CEO and executives

In order to make sure that you are getting the most out of your board of directors, coming to your board meetings prepared is vital. One of the key aspects to help you guide your meeting and highlight key talking points is by having a well-thought-out board deck. 

Download Template

Learn more about what should be included in your board deck below:

1) A High-Level Update From the Founder

To kick off any board meeting or board deck, should be a quick high-level overview from the founder and/or CEO. The purpose of this is to set the tone for what is to come and a general overview of how the past period (month, quarter, etc.) went for the business. Be sure to share any big wins from the previous period or quickly hit on things that might be negatively impacting you and your company. 

Think of this as the “big picture” for both the previous period and the company as a whole. Using the sections below, you can use the high-level update as a time to quickly hit on each of those to set expectations for what is to come throughout the meeting. 

2) A Section on KPIs and Metrics

Next, dig into the KPIs and metrics from the previous period. The purpose of this is to give everyone the proper data and context they need to understand decisions that will be made later in the meeting. These metrics and KPIs should be agreed upon beforehand and everyone in the room should understand what they mean and how they impact the business. 

It is important to keep these metrics consistent from meeting to meeting. This helps everyone focus on what truly matters and will build trust with investors. It is worth noting that this could include qualitative metrics as well — customer stories or quotes are always great to share!

3) An Update on the Team and Organization as a Whole

After digging into your KPIs and metrics, spend some time on your org chart and hiring plans. One of the places boards are best suited to help with is hiring and finding key talent so making sure you make the most of this section is vital. 

We recommend starting with a current org chart so investors and board members can understand where your headcount lies. From here, we recommend hitting on what teams need additional talent and walking through the roles you are hiring for. Be prescriptive as possible so they can reach out to their networks and find candidates for your company. 

4) Product Development Update

At this point, you’ve likely hit on the organization as a whole and how the business is performing as a whole. Next, you will want to dig into the product development and status of any new features or products you’ve released or been working on since your last meeting. 

This can be a time to give additional metrics or share stories of how a new feature might be impacting your business. This can be used to further working/strategy sessions towards the end of the meeting. 

5) An In-Depth Section on Organizational Strategy and Product Strategy

Towards the end of your meeting is the true “meat and potatoes” of your meeting. This is a strategy or working session that should give you concrete steps and plans to take away from the meeting. It is generally recommended that this section should take 50%+ of your meeting time. 

This section can cover just about any issues you are facing as a founder (keeping in mind what your board members are best suited to help with). For example, if you are facing hiring challenges, highlight those and discuss what you want your org chart to look like. You can use it to plan a fundraising or financial event in the coming months. Or you can use this as a time to build a higher-level product roadmap.

No matter what you use this for, make sure you have your talking points prepared so you can make the most of this section. 

6) A Miscellaneous Chapter

As always, save some time for miscellaneous or other topics. This can be official board business or governance. This might cover things like board resolutions, appointments, stock options, and more.

Related Resource: What We’ve Learned From Investors About Running a Board Meeting

While there is no one size fits all template to help you knock out your next board meeting deck, there are resources and best practices that you can use for your next meeting. 

1) Use a Template

As we mentioned earlier, there are ~6 key areas you will likely want to hit on over the course of a board meeting. Of course, the specifics and structure will vary from business to business. 

In order to help you select what is most important to your business, we’ve put together a board deck template. The goal of this template is to help you structure the meeting and build your agenda.

Give the board deck template a try here:

Download Template

2) Keep Slides Simple

The goal of a board meeting is to prompt conversation. In order to do this, it is important to make sure your slides are simple and easily digestible. Make sure your slides are not full of unnecessary words and context. Use bullets and your own narrative to help board members with any additional context they might need. 

3) Share Deck Materials Early

In order to have the best conversation possible at your board meeting, you need to make sure everyone on your board is well prepared. In order to do so, make sure you are sending your board materials in advance so they can have an understanding of the past period and will be able to dig into tactical questions.

As we wrote in our post, How to Get the Most Out of Your Next Board Meeting, “Most founders/CEO have found it best to send over their pre-meeting report/packet at least 4 days in advance.” 

Depending on your meeting cadence, you will want to send over things like your agenda, important matters, metrics, and more in advance of your next board meeting to set the stage. Check out an example of what to send below:

Related Resource: Pre-Board Meeting Update Template

Running a successful board meeting can be a high-leverage activity for your startup. The easiest thing you can do is come prepared and ready to have a strategic conversation with the people that matter most to your business. 

Let us help prepare for your next board meeting or fundraising event. Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days.