Defining Roles and Responsibilities
Team members discuss and assign specific roles, responsibilities, and equity distribution, clarifying who will be in charge of different aspects of the startup.
Dialogue
Listen and follow along with the conversation
Vocabulary
Essential words and phrases from the dialogue
spearhead
To spearhead means to lead or start an important project or activity, often taking the main responsibility for it. It's useful in business discussions when assigning leadership roles.
keen on
Keen on something means very interested in or enthusiastic about it. This phrase is common in casual business talks to show strong preference for a task.
background
Background refers to a person's past experience, education, or skills in a certain area. In job or role discussions, it's used to explain why someone is suitable for a position.
operational
Operational means related to the day-to-day running of a business, like processes and management. It's practical for describing roles in a company setup.
equity
Equity in business means ownership shares in a company, often distributed among founders. This term is essential in startup talks about dividing ownership.
vesting schedule
A vesting schedule is a plan that determines when ownership shares become fully owned over time, usually to encourage long-term commitment. It's a key concept in startup equity agreements.
contributions
Contributions mean the efforts, time, or resources someone puts into a project. In team discussions, it's used to evaluate fairness in rewards or shares.
crucial
Crucial means extremely important or necessary. It's a strong word to emphasize why something like a plan or agreement matters in business decisions.
Key Sentences
Important phrases to remember and practice
Who wants to take the lead on product development?
This is a question to ask for volunteers to lead a specific task. It's useful in team meetings to assign roles; the structure uses 'who wants to' for offering choices and 'take the lead on' as an idiom for leading.
I'm definitely keen on that.
This expresses strong interest in a suggestion. It's practical for showing enthusiasm in discussions; 'definitely' adds emphasis, and 'keen on' is a common British-influenced phrase for liking something.
That makes sense.
A simple way to agree with an idea because it's logical. This phrase is very useful in conversations to show understanding and approval without long explanations; it's informal and common in business talks.
That leaves me to focus on business strategy, partnerships, and fundraising.
This describes what remains for the speaker after others take roles. It's helpful for clarifying responsibilities; the structure uses 'leaves me to' to indicate what's left over, followed by a list of duties.
Sounds like a solid structure.
This gives positive feedback on a plan or organization. Useful for agreeing in team settings; 'sounds like' introduces an opinion, and 'solid' means reliable or strong, common in casual business English.
How do we want to approach that?
This invites discussion on how to handle a topic. It's practical for collaborative decisions; the question form with 'how do we want to' encourages group input and uses 'approach' for methods of dealing with issues.
I suggest we assign a base percentage and then adjust based on specific contributions.
This proposes an idea politely. Useful for suggesting plans in meetings; 'I suggest' softens the proposal, and the sentence uses 'and then' for sequence, with 'based on' explaining conditions.
Let's draft a proposal for equity split based on these discussions and review it next week.
This suggests next steps in planning. It's great for action-oriented talks; 'let's' makes it inclusive, 'draft' means to write a first version, and it includes future time reference with 'next week'.