Venture Clienting Decision Meetings: From Demos to PoC Selection

Decision Meetings

There’s no fancy trick to running a decision meeting - the real magic is having one in the first place.

If you don’t schedule a decision meeting, things will drift. People get busy, momentum gets lost, and suddenly the PoC never happens. So step one is simple:

Put a decision meeting on the calendar.

This gives everyone a clear deadline and creates commitment to make a call.

What’s the purpose?

To choose the startup you want to move forward with for the PoC. This is usually based on:

• The likelihood that the startup can solve the problem we’re trying to solve
• The impression the startup made during the demos
• Any other relevant info (pricing, etc.)

Who should be there?

Make sure all relevant decision-makers are in the room (or call).

This typically includes:

• The pain point owner
• Their manager or budget holder
• You (the innovation manager)
• Optionally, someone from procurement or IT if their input is needed at this stage

How to run it

1. Start by summarizing
   • Quickly remind everyone what the challenge is
   • Recap which startups were demoed
   • Show a visual (slide or GlassDollar software) with a simple side-by-side comparison of the options
2. Invite impressions
   • Ask: “Which one do you think solves the problem best?”
   • Encourage input from the pain point owner first - they usually already have a favorite
   • Share your perspective too, especially if you’ve seen many startups in this space
3. If a decision is clear, then confirm it
   • “Great. Then we’ll move forward with [Startup X] for the PoC.”
4. If no decision yet, then ask what’s missing
   • “What information would you need to make a decision today?”
   • Get clear next steps: what needs to be clarified, by whom, and by when
   • Set a second decision meeting immediately. Don’t let it hang open.

Your job in this meeting

• Keep the meeting focused
• Prevent “we’ll just think about it” from stalling momentum
• And most importantly: make sure a decision gets made

Reminder

A delayed decision is almost always worse than a wrong one. You can always correct course later but you can’t scale Venture Clienting if decisions drag on.