Asks (intros, hires, strategic help)
Give directors specific, actionable ways to help, not a generic 'let us know if you have ideas.'
Suster notes founders under-use their board as a resource; a specific ask slide converts a status meeting into help the company can actually use.
- Named intros needed (specific company or role, not 'enterprise customers')
- Open key roles where a director's network could help
- One or two strategic questions the board's experience could genuinely inform
- Generic asks like 'any intros are welcome' with no specificity
- More than 3-4 asks, which dilutes attention on any single one
- The same generic ask appears verbatim quarter after quarter with no update
- No asks at all, which reads as either false confidence or a board that isn't being used
- Asking for 'intros to VPs of Finance' instead of naming target companies where a warm intro is realistic
- Never following up on whether last quarter's asks led anywhere
- · Could a director act on this ask in the next 48 hours, or is it too vague to act on?
- · Did last quarter's ask get a follow-up, even if it didn't pan out?
Ask: [specific need]. Who can help: [type of connection or expertise]. By when: [date].
"We'd appreciate any help or introductions the board can offer this quarter."
"Ask: warm intro to Head of Payroll Ops at 2-3 remittance-heavy companies (100+ international contractors) to pilot multi-currency payouts before Q3 launch. Also hiring a VP Sales, ideal profile: sold into HR/finance buyers at a Series A SaaS company."
Nimbus names the exact persona and company profile for both asks, giving directors something concrete enough to act on that week.
Quick quiz
1. What makes a board ask actionable?
- ○ Being broad enough to cover many possibilities
- ✓ Naming a specific company profile, role, or persona a director could act on within days
- ○ Repeating the same ask every quarter for consistency
- ○ Making it sound urgent regardless of specificity
A vague ask gets a vague 'I'll keep an eye out.' A specific one gets an actual intro.
2. What should happen to an ask from last quarter that didn't land?
- ○ It disappears with no mention
- ✓ It gets a follow-up, even briefly, so the board sees asks are tracked
- ○ It gets repeated with no context
- ○ The founder apologizes for asking
Tracking follow-up signals the founder actually uses board help, which encourages more of it.