Opening the playbook: timeline, buyer persona, and initial needs

• Tell me briefly how soon you need a board partner to begin driving customer conversations for your next funding milestone? Options: Within 30 days, 30 to 60 days, 61 to 90 days, Flexible, within 4 to 12 weeks
• What buyer persona are you prioritizing for early customer wins, name the single job title or function we should focus on first? Options: Head of Procurement/Buying Committee, VP Sales / Revenue leader, Chief Medical Officer / Clinical leader, Head of Risk and Compliance, CTO / Technical buyer, Other
• How many reference conversations with portfolio company CEOs or their founders do you plan to take before making a decision? Options: 0, 1, 2 to 3, 4 or more
• When you picture an ideal time from first meeting to signed terms, what timeline aligns with your runway and hiring plan? Options: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, More than 8 weeks
• Describe the single outcome or risk that would make you stop this process and walk away today.

Where the growth stalls, and what that costs the business

• What single market access failure would make it impossible for you to hit your growth plan in the next 12 months?
• Who in your target customer's organization signs the deals that matter, and what is the typical procurement cycle length in days for that role? Options: Procurement/Legal (90+ days), Business Unit Buyer (30 to 90 days), Finance/CFO (45 to 120 days), Technical procurement/IT (30 to 90 days), Varies widely by buyer
• To what extent have you validated those procurement milestones with at least two target accounts, and which milestone causes the biggest friction? Options: Fully validated and repeatable, Partially validated with variability, Not validated, assumptions only
• How does missing a single procurement window translate into revenue, hiring, or runway risk for your next 12 months?
• If a sector investor could deliver three vetted buyer conversations within 90 days, what would need to change inside your team for you to accept and act on those introductions?

Portfolio overlap and LP dynamics, the trade-offs you must face

• Name the degree of product or customer overlap that would create an unacceptable conflict for your board seat or partnership with an investor. Options: Direct competitor in my exact sub-segment, Adjacent feature overlap with shared customers, Overlap only at enterprise account level, No overlap is acceptable
• Which types of strategic LP relationships would make you worry an exit timeline could be accelerated against your plan? Options: Corporate acquirers in the LP base, Large customers who are LPs, LPs with board influence at the fund, LPs without direct conflict
• When strategic LPs are customers or potential acquirers, what governance or term protections would you need to see to move forward?
• Estimate how much revenue delay or risk a discovered portfolio conflict would add in the next 12 months. Options: >20% revenue impact, 10 to 20%, <10%, Negligible
• Assuming you discovered a portfolio company already selling to your top three target accounts, would you continue the process with this investor? Options: Proceed with a clear conflict mitigation plan, Pause until the conflict is resolved, Stop and decline the investor

Which proofs will actually convince you the seller can open the doors generalists cannot

• Walk me through the structure and substance of a reference call that would prove the seller delivers tangible go-to-market help.
• Which proof points do you weigh most heavily when judging go-to-market assistance, and select all that apply. Options: Confirmed customer introductions within 90 days, Documented ARR acceleration at portfolio companies, Repeatable customer intro playbook and scripts, Operating partner-led hiring support, Closed-won case studies showing cycle compression
• Who on an investor team would you want to speak with first to validate their sector operating history, and why would that role convince you?
• Are there specific portfolio metrics you need to see, for example average sales cycle reduction or demo-to-purchase conversion lift, before you will accept claims about commercial support? Options: Average sales cycle reduction, Demo-to-purchase conversion lift, Time to first enterprise customer, Follow-on funding frequency, Other metrics
• Would you still accept the sector thesis as sufficient if reference calls do not corroborate hands-on commercial help? Options: Yes, thesis alone is enough, No, I need tangible evidence of help, Only if the investor gives contractual commitments

The other options on your table, and what would keep you with them

• Why might you choose a top-tier generalist over a sector specialist even if the specialist promises deeper customer access? Options: Brand signal to later rounds, Larger follow-on capital, Perceived neutrality and lower conflict risk, Broader network across markets
• List the alternative funding or partner options you are actively evaluating, using categories rather than names. Options: Top-tier generalist funds, Other sector-focused funds, Corporate venture or strategic investor, Self-funding or angel syndicate, Accelerator or platform investor
• To stay with your current approach, what would have to be true about your internal customer access or GTM motion?
• On a scale from 1 to 5, how much would guaranteed structured introductions within 90 days change your willingness to sign with a sector partner? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Has anyone on your leadership team proposed solving customer access internally instead of partnering with an investor? Options: Yes, formal plan proposed, Yes, informal plan discussed, No internal proposal, We considered and rejected it

Operational readiness: can your team accept structured introductions and pilots?

• Describe the integration points, security posture, or customer systems that must be in place before you can accept warm introductions without extended legal delay.
• Name who on your team owns contract review, redlines, and vendor onboarding, and the typical turnaround time for a legal review. Options: GC / external counsel, Head of Operations, Head of Product / Engineering, CEO / Founder, No single owner identified
• Estimate how many engineering or GTM hours per month you can allocate to joint pilots, customer integrations, or introduction follow ups in quarter one. Options: 0 to 20 hours, 20 to 60 hours, 60 to 120 hours, 120+ hours
• Are there regulatory controls such as HIPAA, SOC2, PCI, or finance approvals that could gate pilots or buyer conversations? Options: Yes, HIPAA or health rules, Yes, SOC2 / data security controls, Yes, finance or procurement approvals, No major regulatory gates
• Assuming required data sharing or compliance steps cannot be completed within 60 days, would you decline structured buyer introductions until resolved? Options: Yes, decline until compliant, Proceed with a narrow scope and protections, Proceed and accept some delay

Closing the loop: what would accelerate your decision and who signs off

• Select the single seller commitment, contractual or operational, that would make you willing to sign in the month after a successful pilot. Options: Guaranteed introductions within 90 days, Clause limiting direct portfolio competitors, Defined follow-on support milestones, Specified board role or observer seat
• Tell us who else in your board, major investor group, or advisor circle must sign off before you accept a sector specialist as lead investor.
• Would you accept a phased governance plan, for example a limited board role for six months with a review after milestones are met? Options: Yes, phased governance is acceptable, No, need immediate full governance rights, Maybe, depending on milestones
• On a scale from 1 to 5, how critical is immediate access to the seller's strategic LP customers for your 12 month ARR plan? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Give a firm deadline: how many business days would you need to finalize terms if your top requirement from above were met today? Options: 3 business days, 7 business days, 14 business days, More than 14 days

• Sector Partner Evidence Session

• Confirm the current state and its cost to you
• You confirm that the seller's partners have direct operating experience selling to your buyer persona and produced measurable go-to-market outcomes.
• Provide three portfolio CEO reference calls focused on go-to-market assistance, scheduled within five business days.
• You confirm the anonymized portfolio map and conflict controls reduce material competitive overlap to an acceptable level for your product roadmap.
• Proof: partner operating history and outcomes
• Deliver an anonymized portfolio conflict map and a one-page LP disclosure summary before the decision meeting.
• Proof: anonymized portfolio concentration and conflict map
• Share your top five target buyer personas and two priority accounts for scenario mapping within three business days.
• You confirm the introduction playbook, as mapped to your targets, will produce qualified buyer introductions within 90 days and align with your procurement cycles.
• Proof: LP relationships and strategic dynamics
• You agree the remaining evidence and decision timeline required to reach a final selection between investor options.
• Confirm your evaluation criteria, decision-makers, and target decision date.
• Proof: customer-introduction playbook matched to your targets
• Validate alignment and remaining gaps
• Agree remaining evidence and decision checklist

• Sector Partner Evidence Session
• Sector Partner Evidence Deck
• Sector Evidence Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Lead partner board seat
• 90‑day strategic buyer introduction program
• Portfolio CEO reference calls (up to 3)
• Execute customer intro pipeline (first 90 days)
• Structured customer pilot facilitation
• Proprietary sector research report delivery
• Sector founder community onboarding
• Executive talent sourcing from sector operators
• Monthly GTM advisory sessions with operating partner
• Introduce strategic LP co‑investors and customers
• Information‑barrier and conflict safeguard agreement
• Quarterly market intelligence briefings

Lead partner board seat

• Do you require the lead partner to take an active board seat (voting director) or a board observer role (non-voting)? (Examples of role impact: board pack cadence for EHR integrations in healthcare IT, procurement review cycles for enterprise banking integrations in fintech, or CAPEX approval cadence for interconnection work in climate tech) Options: Board director (voting), Board observer (non-voting), Flex / negotiable
• What acceptance criteria will you use to confirm the board seat scope is met (for example: partner seated within 30 days of close, monthly board package including ARR by buyer segment, and documented attendance for at least 3 consecutive meetings)? (Artifacts: signed onboarding acknowledgement, board package template, calendar invites)
• Which board-level materials do you expect the partner to supply or help produce (examples: monthly revenue and pipeline dashboards mapped to payer segments for healthcare IT, enterprise pricing waterfall for fintech, or project-level emissions reduction dashboards for climate tech)?
• Who on your team will be the primary board liaison (title or role) and which coordination tasks should you expect us to handle vs keep internal? (Examples: VP Sales for enterprise procurement engagements, Head of Clinical Ops for certification timelines, or Head of Grid Ops for interconnection schedules) Options: You assign liaison and handle coordination, We provide liaison support and coordinate, Joint ownership

90‑day strategic buyer introduction program

• Do you want introductions prioritized to strategic buyers, channel partners, or pilot accounts within the first 90 days? (Examples: payer procurement leads in healthcare IT, head of corporate procurement in fintech customers, utility procurement or engineering leads for climate tech pilots) Options: Strategic buyers, Channel partners, Pilot customers, All of the above
• What evidence will validate the 90-day introduction program for you (for example: X warmed intros made, Y qualified meetings scheduled, Z signed NDAs, or a signed pilot SOW)? (Acceptable artifacts: meeting calendar exports, signed NDA or SOW PDFs, CRM activity notes)
• How many warm introductions do you expect within 90 days to consider the program successful (for instance 3–5 buyer personas matching your ICP, or a minimum of 2 pilot-ready accounts)? (Examples: 3 product-market-fit buyer meetings in a particular payer vertical, 5 pilot leads at regional utilities) Options: 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, 10+
• Which supporting artifacts should accompany each introduction (for example: a one-page use-case brief mapping to the buyer's procurement criteria, integration summary showing EHR or payment rail connectivity, or a reference one-pager from a similar customer)?

Portfolio CEO reference calls (up to 3)

• Would you like us to arrange up to three reference calls with portfolio company CEOs focused on specific operational areas like buyer introductions, recruiting senior hires, or compliance navigation? (Examples: ask a portfolio CEO about how the partner helped secure an early payer contract, or how they hired a VP Sales with existing banking relationships) Options: Yes, No
• Rank the CEO reference topics you want covered on calls (customer intros, executive hiring, commercial contracting, regulatory navigation) and indicate which subsegment example you want referenced (for example: hospital procurement cycles in healthcare IT, card issuer integrations in fintech, or grid interconnection timelines in climate tech). Options: Customer introductions, Executive hiring, Commercial contracting, Regulatory/compliance
• How quickly do you need those CEO reference calls scheduled relative to term negotiation (for example: before term sheet, during diligence, or after LOI)? (Consider timing based on whether you need buyer-intro validation or partner reputation checks) Options: Before term sheet, During diligence, After LOI/commitment
• Who should you ask us to avoid contacting for references because of competitive overlap or confidentiality (for example: competitor product lines, customers under strict non-disclosure, or LPs involved in acquisition discussions)?

Execute customer intro pipeline (first 90 days)

• Which integration artifacts must you have ready before we begin introductions (for example: live sandbox API keys for FHIR queries in healthcare IT, test payment credentials for ACH/ISO20022 flows in fintech, or telemetry ingestion endpoints and sample telemetry schemas for climate tech)?
• Specify the volume and quality thresholds that will define success for the first 90 days (for example: 5 qualified buyer meetings, 2 pilots initiated, 1 paid pilot, or a 30% meeting-to-pilot conversion for targeted buyer personas). Options: 5 qualified meetings / 2 pilots / 1 paid pilot, 3 qualified meetings / 1 pilot, Custom (describe below)
• What artifacts will you accept as evidence that the customer intro pipeline was executed (for example: calendar invites and recordings for buyer meetings, signed pilot SOWs, CRM entries with buyer persona tags, or procurement RFP acknowledgements)?
• Select who should manage each task in the intro pipeline (intro outreach, pilot SOW drafting, pilot onboarding, procurement support) and indicate handoff points between your team and ours (examples: we handle buyer outreach and you handle integration onboarding, or we draft SOW and jointly approve pilot KPI spreadsheet). Options: We manage, You manage, Jointly manage

Structured customer pilot facilitation

• Do you plan to run a structured customer pilot with measurable KPIs (for example: time-to-value reduction on an EHR workflow, payment authorization success rate improvement for a fintech flow, or percentage of emissions reduction measured in a deployment)? Options: Yes, No
• Identify the pilot success metrics that matter most for your deal (examples: activation rate, first-dollar revenue within 90 days, clinical accuracy rate vs ground truth, integration latency under X ms, or carbon reduction percentage measured by standard protocol). Options: Activation rate, First-dollar revenue, Clinical accuracy, Integration latency, Carbon reduction %, Other
• How long should a pilot run before you will evaluate outcomes (examples: 30 days for rapid product validation, 60 days for procurement cycle alignment, 90 days for clinical or regulatory evidence)? Options: 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, Custom
• Which deliverables should you expect us to provide during pilot facilitation (for example: pilot SOW template, onboarding checklist, designated integration support hours, joint success plan with KPI definitions and measurement methods)?

Proprietary sector research report delivery

• Do you want delivery of a sector research report targeted at buyer procurement cycles, pricing benchmarks, and competitor positioning in your specific subsegment (examples: hospital contracting cycles and payer formularies for healthcare IT, interchange and merchant fee benchmarks for fintech, or carbon credit market dynamics for climate tech)? Options: Yes, No
• Select the artifacts the report should include (competitor use-case matrix, buyer procurement calendar, pricing benchmark tables, TAM segmentation by buyer persona) and indicate which of those artifacts must be statistically source-cited. Options: Competitor use-case matrix, Procurement calendar, Pricing benchmarks, TAM segmentation, Other
• By what timeline do you need the report to align with your fundraising milestones (for example: 2 weeks to inform pitch updates, 4 weeks to include in data room, or 6+ weeks for deeper primary research)? Options: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6+ weeks
• Provide the internal owner and required granularity for the report (title or role and whether you need high-level trends or line-item buyer intelligence such as named procurement windows or RFP templates).

Sector founder community onboarding

• Choose the community activities you want access to in the first 90 days (examples: peer office hours for CTOs on EHR integrations, cohort workshops on enterprise sales for fintech SMB banking, pitch practice with strategic utility buyers for climate tech). Options: Peer office hours, Cohort workshops, Pitch practice, Hiring office hours, All of the above
• How frequently should community touchpoints occur to be useful for you (weekly office hours, monthly workshops, quarterly summits, or on-demand expert introductions)? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, On demand
• List the introductions within the community that would be highest value (examples: CTO peer for hiring, VP Sales with enterprise buyer contacts, compliance lead familiar with specific regulatory bodies). Options: CTO peer, VP Sales, Compliance lead, Other
• Describe any confidentiality or NDA constraints you require for community sharing (for example: restrict product roadmaps, disallow direct competitor participation, or prohibit sharing of PHI/clinical data in healthcare IT).

Executive talent sourcing from sector operators

• Identify the executive roles you expect us to source from our sector network (examples: VP Sales with enterprise healthcare buyer contacts, Head of Clinical Partnerships, Director of Grid Integration, Head of Compliance for fintech KYC/AML).
• Choose the candidate delivery timeline you prefer for retained searches (examples: 30 days for urgent hires, 60 days for market mapping, 90 days for passive senior targets). Options: 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, Custom
• Define the success criteria you will use to accept a candidate (for example: signed offer within X days, start date within Y days, reference checks confirming buyer introductions or prior sector wins).
• Should you want us to coordinate in-market reference checks that emphasize buyer introductions and procurement wins (for example: check prior deals where candidate closed a top-tier payer, bank, or utility)? Options: Yes, No

Monthly GTM advisory sessions with operating partner

• Prioritize the go-to-market topics you want monthly advisory sessions to focus on (examples: defining ICP for hospital IT buying centers, enterprise pricing for fintech integrations, or channel partnerships for distributed energy projects). Options: ICP definition, Pricing, Enterprise procurement, Channel partnerships, Other
• Indicate the attendance expectation you want for each session (founder only, founder plus CRO, or the full leadership team), given the topic (for example: include Head of Compliance for regulatory sessions). Options: Founder only, Founder + CRO, Full leadership team, Custom
• How long should each advisory session be (30, 60, 90 minutes) and do you want action items tracked in a shared workspace (examples: JIRA tasks for integrations, shared GTM playbook updates)? Options: 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes
• Pick the post-session deliverables you want produced (for example: recorded session, action tracker with owners, updated GTM playbook tailored to buyer persona). Options: Recording, Action tracker, Updated GTM playbook, None

Introduce strategic LP co‑investors and customers

• Select whether you want introductions to strategic limited partners and their commercial contacts, introductions to corporate customers, or both (examples: introductions to a strategic payer, a bank's procurement team, or a utility's innovation group). Options: Strategic LPs and their customers, Corporate customers only, Both, Neither
• Specify the restrictions you want observed when introducing strategic LPs (for example: no exclusivity requests, limit intros to non-competing product lines, or avoid buyer accounts currently under NDA).
• How should co-investor or LP introductions be staged for you (early diligence call, term-sheet co-investor meeting, or post-close customer meeting)? Options: Early diligence, Term-sheet meeting, Post-close meeting, Other
• Indicate which party should handle commercial NDA or confidentiality paperwork for LP or customer meetings (we, you, or jointly) and whether you need a template SOW or procurement checklist to be completed in advance. Options: We handle paperwork, You handle paperwork, Jointly handle

Information‑barrier and conflict safeguard agreement

• Do you require a written information barrier and conflict safeguard agreement before diligence calls (examples: a Chinese wall restricting portfolio intel, separate data rooms, or a commitment not to share pricing models)? Options: Yes, No
• Confirm which safeguard mechanisms you find acceptable (separate deal teams, redacted reports, dedicated data rooms without competitor dossiers, or restricted read-only access to certain artifacts). Options: Separate deal teams, Redacted reports, Dedicated data room, Read-only restricted access, Other
• Provide the role or title who will sign or acknowledge the safeguard agreement on your side (for example: General Counsel, Head of Security, or COO) and the internal routing required for approval.
• Are there specific data types that you require to never be shared under the safeguard (examples: raw PHI/clinical datasets, customer pricing models, or anonymized telemetry that still identifies customers)? Options: Customer lists, Pricing models, Clinical datasets / PHI, Telemetry with identifiers, No restrictions

Quarterly market intelligence briefings

• Prioritize topics you want covered in quarterly briefings (procurement cycle shifts, pricing changes, competitor funding and exits, regulatory updates specific to your subsegment such as new payer rules, ISO updates for grids, or new payments regulation). Options: Procurement cycle shifts, Pricing changes, Competitor funding/exits, Regulatory updates, Other
• Indicate the briefing format you prefer (written slide deck, 1-page executive summary, or live briefing with Q&A) and whether you need source citations for benchmarking tables (for example: cite recent hospital RFPs, interchange rate studies, or interconnection queue filings). Options: Written deck, Executive summary, Live briefing with Q&A
• Specify the KPIs you want tracked over time in the briefing (examples: average sales cycle length by buyer type, win-rate vs top buyer lists, average deal size, regulatory approval lead times, or average pilot-to-paid conversion). Options: Sales cycle length, Win-rate vs top buyers, Average deal size, Regulatory timelines, Pilot-to-paid conversion, Other
• Provide the distribution list for the briefing (which roles on your team should receive it) and indicate whether you permit a redacted version to be published to the sector founder community. Options: Leadership team only, Full company distribution, Redacted to community, No external distribution

• Term Sheet
• Share Purchase / Subscription Agreement
• Investors' Rights & Shareholders' Agreement
• Board Appointment & Voting Agreement
• Conflict Mitigation Side Letter
• Post-Closing Introduction & Support Side Letter
• Disclosure Schedules & Closing Deliverables
• Escrow and Indemnity Agreement
• Regulatory Compliance Addendum (conditional)

• Onboarding Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Outcome Measurement (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate — Onboarding and Intro Pipeline Review (around day 90)
• Quarterly Success Review (ongoing)

• Publish a short meeting summary with agreed actions and deadlines in the shared channel within 48 hours.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Acceptance decision recorded against the targets recorded in Partnership Scope with pass/fail status for each numeric criterion.
• A remediation plan with deadlines is agreed for any unmet acceptance criteria, with a clear follow-up checkpoint.
• The acceptance record is published in the shared workspace for future reference.
• Publish the acceptance decision and associated evidence in the shared channel and tag the named buyer signatory or buying owner.
• Capture remediation tasks for any failed criteria with target dates and publish the follow-up checkpoint.
• If accepted, confirm the scheduled cadence for ongoing quarterly success reviews and data sources to be used.
• Review cumulative introduction outcomes
• Confirm introduction-driven pipeline and outcomes are tracking as expected and document any corrective work required.
• Ensure board engagement is maintained and any governance actions are assigned and scheduled.
• Maintain an up-to-date conflicts register with resolution status for each item and agreed next steps for unresolved conflicts.
• Update the shared introduction outcomes dashboard with quarter-to-date qualified meetings and closed opportunities.
• Record any new portfolio conflicts in the conflicts register and assign mitigation owners with target resolution dates.
• Re-confirm partnership commitments and owners
• All onboarding checklist items are confirmed complete or have named remediation actions with target dates.
• The buyer has access to the sector community and the introduction playbook is delivered and acknowledged.
• A prioritized list of onboarding blockers with remediation dates is agreed.
• Complete any outstanding community access or channel invitations and confirm by timestamp.
• Provide the latest introduction playbook and a one-page sequencing checklist to the buyer's team.
• Log onboarding blockers in the shared channel and assign resolution target dates.
• Present first outcome data
• Determine whether introductions and conversion are trending toward the targets recorded in Partnership Scope and identify gaps.
• Agree a concrete set of corrective actions with delivery dates to address the primary root causes.
• Confirm the timeline and deliverables required for the acceptance gate meeting around day 90.
• Schedule additional structured buyer introductions to priority accounts with a defined sequencing window.
• Update the introduction playbook with learnings from early outreach and circulate the revisions.
• Capture board engagement notes and any follow-on support commitments in the shared channel for transparency.
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Board engagement signals
• Onboarding completion checklist
• Board engagement and governance check
• Follow-on funding cadence and allocation status
• Early adoption signals and usage patterns
• Document pass or fail per criterion
• Diagnose root causes for gaps
• Conflicts and strategic LP issues register
• Blockers and open issues
• Agree corrective actions and timeline to acceptance gate
• Formal acceptance decision and next steps
• Open issues, enhancements, and next actions
• Agree immediate remediation actions and timelines