Meditating on Backbone’s Future: Why Board Meetings are like going to the Doctor

It might sound strange, but I like going to the doctor’s office. I hated the doctor’s office when I was a kid. Now, though, it’s something I look forward to. Doctors are experts in their fields. Talking with them about my health issues makes me smarter. The doctor encourages me to take better care of myself. Even if I’m already doing a good job, they’ve got advice to keep me on track and improve what I’ve been doing.

I’ve hosted a lot of board meetings over the past five years, including our most recent last Tuesday. Just like when I visit the doctor’s office, I came away feeling invigorated. One of the best parts of hosting these meetings is how much I end up learning. I feel like after these years of board meetings, we’re really hitting our stride. It was a useful, empowering time to reflect on our successes and our growth as well as to meditate on Backbone’s future.

I’m always joined by Backbone leadership in these meetings, and this time was no different. Our heads of sales, marketing, client success, and more got the opportunity to work with our board, allowing me to sit back and take time to appreciate the amazing team I have. Getting to see them engaging in active, enthusiastic cross-talk and watching as they supported each other while presenting their successes was awesome.

Talking with our board members about Backbone’s issues, accomplishments, and continued vision was so encouraging. Engaging with their advice and wisdom gave me so many ideas for how we can strengthen and improve Backbone’s future. Our board members and investors are absolute experts, and their guidance and advice is unparalleled. Jason Mendelson, a co-founder of Foundry Group and the newest member of our board, added so much to the already exciting dynamic of these meetings.

Something I had focused on in a letter to the board before the meeting was the growing pains Backbone has been facing recently. It’s been a high growth year for Backbone, and with this growth came some growing pains. I’ve always seen these as good things, proof that we’re on the right track, and the board meeting completely supported that view. Our board assured me that facing these sorts of growing pains show that Backbone is on the right track. If we weren’t experiencing these issues, it would be cause for concern. Facing them is, in fact, confirmation of our success.

It feels like my life has become, in the best way possible, a cycle of strategize, execute, repeat. We worked hard to get ready for the board meetings, just as we worked hard during our Series A funding round, just as we work hard every day to improve the Backbone platform. We executed a successful, engaging board meeting. Now it’s time to strategize again. We’re not resting on our laurels. The revolutionary Backbone platform is at the core of everything we do, and this is why we work so tirelessly on improving it. We have aligned on our top initiatives for the rest of the year and working hard to completely overtake our outdated, cobbled-together legacy PLM competition. Their days are numbered.

We’ve held the same thesis near and dear to our hearts at Backbone since the beginning. We live in a Direct to Consumer economy. The wave of next-gen modern consumer goods companies is still rolling as our sales pipeline grows. Backbone continues to add value to our clients as they design and develop their products faster, smarter, and more efficiently. The platform’s core feature set unlocks unlimited potential for our brands. We know this, and will be doubling down both on our beliefs and on our dedication to providing the best, most efficient platform possible for our customers.

Just like coming home from a visit to the doctor’s office, I feel ready to rededicate myself to the health of my company and my team. Our board meetings get better every time we hold one, and this was our best. Our next board meeting will be even better. We’re just getting started, and the future looks amazing.