Defining Roles and Responsibilities

Dialogue7

Vocabulary8

• 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 Sentences8

1. 1

   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.

2. 2

   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.

3. 3

   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.

4. 4

   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.

5. 5

   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.

6. 6

   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.

7. 7

   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.

8. 8

   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'.