Founder meeting runbook

When to use

Use this skill for:

• First meetings / second meetings with founders
• Prepping a partner for a meeting
• Turning a conversation into a clear "next step" (diligence or pass)

Inputs you should request (only if missing)

• Company deck / website / demo link (if available)
• Stage and what the founder is raising
• Your firm's investment criteria (check size, ownership, etc.)
• Any prior interactions (intro path, prior passes)

Outputs you must produce

1. Meeting brief (5 bullets + 3 kill questions) before the call
2. Meeting notes (decision-oriented, with "must be true" + risks) within 2 hours
3. Follow-up email (value + next steps) same day
4. Pass note (if passing) that is direct and helpful
5. Salesforce logging within 2 hours

Hard rule: Every meeting must have a 5-bullet recap logged within 2 hours.

Templates:

• assets/meeting-brief.md
• assets/meeting-notes.md
• assets/follow-up-email.md
• assets/pass-note.md

Procedure

1) Pre-meeting prep (15-25 minutes)

Do:

• Read everything public (site, docs, pricing, 2-3 customer quotes if possible).
• Write 5 questions you truly don't know the answer to.
• Identify 3 "kill questions" (if answered badly, likely a pass).
• Write your wedge hypothesis: "Why might this be 10x?"
• Write your initial "must be true" (what needs to be true for this to work?).

Avoid:

• Writing a long summary nobody uses.
• Asking questions the deck already answers (unless testing honesty).
• Going in without a point of view.

2) Meeting structure (45 minutes, keep time)

Section	Time	Focus
Founder story + why this problem	5 min	Motivation, insight
Product + why now	10 min	Wedge, differentiation
Buyer + GTM motion	10 min	ICP, cycle, pricing
Traction + retention + cycle time	10 min	Evidence of pull
Risks / unknowns	5 min	What founder is worried about
Next steps	5 min	Clear actions

3) High-signal questions (pick 8-12)

Buyer / pain (establish ICP + trigger)

• Who is the buyer with budget authority?
• What is the trigger event that causes purchase now?
• What are they doing today instead?
• What is the "do nothing" competitor?
• What happens if they don't buy this? (cost of inaction)

GTM (establish repeatability)

• How do the first 10 customers find you?
• What is the sales cycle length and who blocks it?
• What is the onboarding path and time-to-value?
• What's your pricing and how did you arrive at it?
• What's your churn and why do people leave?

Traction / truth (establish evidence)

• What's the best evidence this is repeatable?
• What's the hardest churn story you've had?
• What surprised you since launch?
• What metric would you want us to check in 6 months?

Team / learning rate (establish adaptability)

• Tell me about a major internal disagreement and how you resolved it.
• What's an example of something you changed your mind about based on evidence?
• What do you believe that most people in the space disagree with?
• What's your biggest gap as a team right now?

Kill questions (must ask) Your 3 kill questions from prep. If the answers are bad, you should pass.

4) Note-taking rules (decision oriented)

Your notes must include these sections:

## One-line summary
[Company] does [what] for [who] at [stage]. Recommend: [advance/pass/watch]

## Must be true (3 bullets)
1. 
2. 
3. 

## Strengths (3 bullets)
1. 
2. 
3. 

## Risks (3 bullets, ranked)
1. [Highest impact]
2. 
3. 

## Kill question answers
1. Q: / A: / Signal:
2. Q: / A: / Signal:
3. Q: / A: / Signal:

## Next step (if advancing)
- Diligence item 1:
- Diligence item 2:
- Owner:
- Deadline:

## Pass reason (if passing)
- Primary reason:
- What would change our mind:
- Recheck date:

5) Follow-up (same day, within 2 hours)

If advancing: Send:

• A crisp recap of what you heard (so they can correct it)
• 1-2 specific intros you can make (customers/operators/candidates) - named, not generic
• The diligence items needed next (explicit, max 3)
• A proposed timeline for next steps with dates

If passing:

• Be direct ("we're going to pass")
• Name 1-2 concrete reasons (avoid "not a fit")
• Offer 1 actionable suggestion (ICP change, wedge, metric to hit, etc.)
• State what would change your mind (and when to reconnect)

6) Passing well

Rules for passing:

• Pass quickly (within 48 hours of decision)
• Be direct in the first sentence
• Give a real reason, not "timing" or "fit"
• Leave the door open with specifics

Good pass: "After discussing internally, we're going to pass on this round. Our main concern is [specific reason]. If we saw [specific evidence], we'd love to reconnect. In the meantime, [one helpful suggestion]."

Bad pass: "Unfortunately, this isn't the right fit for us at this time. Best of luck with your fundraise!"

Salesforce logging (REQUIRED, within 2 hours)

Minimum logging per meeting:

• Event/Activity with 5-bullet notes attached
• Opportunity created or updated with current stage
• Task for next step with owner and due date
• Pass reason (if passing) + "what would change our mind" + recheck date

Use

salesforce-crm-ops

for API-level logging.

Interview craft (advanced)

Building rapport without wasting time:

• One genuine observation from your prep (not generic flattery)
• Let them talk 70% of the time
• Take notes visibly (shows you're listening)

Handling evasive answers:

• If vague: "Can you give me a specific example?"
• If no data: "What's the closest proxy you have?"
• If deflecting: "I want to make sure I understand - [restate question]"
• If still evasive after 2 attempts: note it as a red flag, move on

Handling overselling:

• Acknowledge the positive, then probe
• "That's great. What's the hardest part of that?"
• "What would have to go wrong for that to fail?"

Silence is useful:

• After a question, let them think
• Don't fill awkward silences - founders often add important context

References to keep you sharp

• Paul Graham essays for founder patterns and early-stage behavior (e.g., "Do Things That Don't Scale").
• Mark Suster's writing for board and fundraising dynamics.

(These are reading aids, not a substitute for evidence from the company.)

Edge cases

• If the founder is evasive: ask for specifics (numbers, names, timelines). If still evasive after 2 attempts, treat as a red flag and document.
• If you're missing data: propose the smallest next step that would resolve the top risk.
• If the meeting runs long: protect the "next steps" section. End on clarity, not ambiguity.
• If the founder asks for feedback: be honest and specific, even if uncomfortable.