Legal, compliance, option pool items
Give a status update on legal exposure, compliance obligations, and the option pool, even when the answer is 'nothing to report.'
Directors with fiduciary duty need this slide even when there's nothing dramatic to report; Sequoia's checklist includes it as a standing item, not an occasional one.
- Option pool remaining, in shares or percentage, and burn rate against hiring plan
- Any active litigation, regulatory inquiry, or material contract risk
- Compliance items relevant to the business (data privacy, licensing, international payroll regulations for Nimbus specifically)
- Routine legal invoices or minor contract redlines with no board relevance
- Compliance jargon with no plain-English translation of the actual risk
- Option pool is nearly depleted with no refresh plan mentioned
- A compliance or regulatory issue surfaces here for the first time with no prior notice
- Skipping this slide in quiet quarters, which trains the board to assume 'no slide' means 'no issue'
- Burying a real legal risk in dense contract language instead of a plain sentence
- · Would a director understand any legal or regulatory risk here without needing to ask a follow-up question?
- · Is the option pool remaining stated as a specific percentage, not 'plenty left'?
Option pool: [X]% remaining. Legal/compliance: [status, one line]. Action needed: [yes/no, detail].
"No major legal issues to report this quarter, everything is on track."
"Option pool: 3.2% remaining, will need a 2% refresh before Q1 hiring plan closes. Compliance: registered as employer of record in 2 new countries (Germany, Brazil) to support contractor payroll expansion, no open regulatory items."
Nimbus states the exact pool percentage and flags the refresh need a quarter ahead, instead of surprising the board when the pool runs dry mid-hire.
Quick quiz
1. Why include this slide even in a quiet quarter with no legal drama?
- ○ To pad the deck
- ✓ Consistent inclusion keeps the board's fiduciary awareness current and avoids 'no slide means no issue' assumptions
- ○ It's required by the SEC every time
- ○ Lawyers charge by the slide
Skipping it in quiet quarters trains the board to stop checking, which backfires the one time there is an issue.
2. How should option pool remaining be reported?
- ○ Qualitatively, e.g. 'plenty left'
- ✓ As a specific percentage, with a refresh timeline if it's running low
- ○ Only when a director asks
- ○ Never, it's confidential
A specific percentage lets the board plan a refresh before it becomes a hiring blocker.