Your first meeting with the founder (or company sponsor) helps set the tone for all the work you'll do together.
In many ways, we hope you are kindred spirits - you're the domain expert in your field, the accomplished professional with a problem, and the founder is the entrepreneur working tirelessly to solve these problems, and we hope you can bond around that.
It's a short meeting but a chance to inspire and be inspired, so keep it high level. The founder may take the chance to describe their vision, and you might take the chance to describe why your passionate about your field and the new products emerging in them. Here's a common way they might kick if off:
I just wanted to say welcome! I know you're busy and your time is limited, which is why we're thrilled to welcome you as a light-touch advisor. I know why we're excited and I wanted to know what was interesting enough about us that made it worth spending a bit of time together.
In this case, it might be great to have a few sentences ready describing what you founded compelling about the founder and the startup they're running.
Beyond that, here are a few DOs and DON'Ts to help you make the most of this first meeting:
DO | DON'T |
Prep beforehand, and be ready to describe what you found intriguing about and worth spending time on | Don't spend time asking about program details. That's our job, and if the meeting notetaker sees you have questions, we'll follow up. |
Engage personally - learn about the founder and their vision, and share why you're passionate about the space |
|