All About Meetings

Meetings can be a valuable or an expensive way to spend your time. They can open up opportunities, or cost you dearly.

Meetings can be a valuable or an expensive way to spend your time. They can open up opportunities, or cost you dearly.

As a founder you are not evaluated by how many meetings you attend or don’t attend (I’m sure number of meetings attended is a KPI for some corporates out there though). You are only evaluated on how well your startup does.

Types of Meetings

As a founder there are typically six kinds of people that are likely to ask you for a meeting:

  1. People trying to sell you something (e.g. A SAP Salesman),
  2. People asking you for money or time (e.g. founders looking for funding or advice),
  3. People trying to form a partnership (e.g. “It’s a win-win for both of us”)
  4. People to whom you are trying to sell something (e.g. a potential client),
  5. Your partners or current clients, and
  6. People who just want to talk.

People trying to sell you something

99% of the time you know whether or not you’ll buy the product or service the moment the salesman asks to meet.

If you need the product, tell them.

If you don’t need it, also tell them. Say that it isn’t something your company needs right now, but you’re still willing to meet at your convenience. This way you give the salesman the option of pulling out of the meeting (their KPI should be sales, not the number of meetings). If they are still keen to meet it will be on your terms when you have time.

People asking you for money or time

Founders asking other founders for funding forget that most founders are also looking for money.

If someone contacts you about an investment opportunity ask yourself three simple questions : Am I rich (can I afford to lose money)? Am I a VC? Is it a really good idea that they have proven that only they can execute?

If your answer to each question is no, then politely say that you’re not interested, but you’re available to meet at your convenience if they still wish. Like the salesman, this gives the founder the opportunity to pull out of the meeting and the time to stalk other potential funders.

If someone is asking for advice, the polite thing to do is to meet with them. Try your best to do it in a way that doesn’t impact your time too badly (be sure to schedule a commitment for later in the day to prevent a talker from sucking all your time).

People trying to form a partnership

Just like the salesman, you’ll know right away whether the partnership is something with potential. If not, tell them….

If there is potential let the person know so that they can come prepared for post pitch discussions.

People to whom you are trying to sell something

If a potential client requests a meeting. Accept it.

They are either trying to give you money, talk details or let you down easily. Either way, you need to be there.

A partner or a current client

A partner or client wanting to see you can mean one of three things: 1. They have bad news (they’re not happy), they have good news (they are happy), or they just want to talk (they are also happy).

Take a guess as to whether they are happy or not and agree to meet them.

Don’t make a happy client wait or see you at an awkward time or place, definitely, don’t make an unhappy client wait or see you at an awkward time or place.

People just wanting to talk

You should see the people just wanting to talk. They’re interested in you and / or your startup.

Why wouldn’t you see them?

At the end of the day, you may just get an unexpected partner, client or friend.

Prioritising Meetings

When prioritising meetings you need to consider the value of the meeting versus other meetings or other work (emails, reports, documentation and spending time with your employees or family).

Ensure that the meetings you are prioritising align with the startups or your personal ambitions or state.

  • Don’t schedule meetings with salesmen if your startup is running out of money
  • Don’t meet with clients unlikely to commit for months if you need to get quick wins under your belt