Matt Hendrickson

A few weeks back, I watched Maggie Hott, GTM leader at OpenAI, confidently navigate her first board meeting at Unify. Having worked with her through Emergence Capital's Operator in Residence (OIR) program, seeing her immediately contribute valuable insights made me think about how most board members receive virtually no training for this critical role. At Emergence, we've built our firm around developing board excellence. We grow all our partners from within and have established a culture of mentorship focused on board service. Junior investors aren't thrown into the deep end—we pair them with senior GPs to observe effective board dynamics firsthand. My initial experience was at DroneDeploy alongside my partner Kevin Spain, where I got great mentorship before taking on independent board responsibilities. We extend this methodology to our OIR program, where operators learn how to be effective board members. Based on my experience mentoring directors, here are the fundamental principles I share with first-timers for how board members can best support founders: 1. Reframe the purpose: Problem-solving, not reporting If your board meeting is primarily reporting, you're wasting your management team's time. Information sharing should happen asynchronously, with board members engaging with materials before the meeting. This enables the live session to leverage collective intelligence on critical challenges. This rarely happens because many directors overextend themselves across too many boards—another reason we maintain a disciplined investment pace. 2. Master the Socratic approach The most valuable contribution often comes through thoughtful questions rather than declarative statements. Your objective is to enhance the decision-making capability of management. I enter each meeting with 1-3 specific areas where I know I can add value, focusing questions on these topics. 3. Follow-through separates professionals from amateurs Diligently document your commitments, establish clear action items, and execute them. It's crazy how just doing this proactively makes a board member stand out. 4. Understand your unique contribution to the board ecosystem A high-functioning board resembles a great basketball team—you need complementary skills, not redundant ones. In every meeting, I stay conscious of my distinct value relative to others in the room, whether that's SaaS expertise, AI knowledge, or a particular relationship dynamic with the CEO. I calibrate my role based on needs—sometimes assertively addressing areas where others have less experience, other times asking probing questions where fellow members have deeper expertise. -- To my knowledge, Emergence is the only VC firm with a formalized program dedicated to board excellence. It's an investment that yields returns where they matter most—in bending the odds of success for our founders. Founders, I'm curious: What board member behaviors have you found most valuable?

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What does it truly mean to deliver Whole Person Care (WPC)? It means bridging the gap between a doctor's visit and the real-life social needs that impact health—like access to housing, food, and behavioral support. This is why the recent announcement from SACVALLEY MEDSHARE represents a significant step forward for healthcare in California. They have officially launched the statewide NinePatch, Inc. platform, in a key partnership with NinePatch, Inc. and Solano Women in Medicine (SWIM). John Helvey, CEO of SACVALLEY MEDSHARE, highlighted the impact: "This is a huge step forward for the communities we serve. By integrating the NinePatch, Inc. platform and collaborating with visionary partners like SWIM, we’re helping our providers and counties close care gaps, reduce fragmentation, and improve outcomes for individuals and families—especially those facing complex social and behavioral health challenges." This collaborative vision is shared by their partners. Dr. Lisa Holt, Chief Wellness Officer at NinePatch, adds that the partnership is about "This partnership is founded on a culture of collaboration and a shared commitment to transforming care delivery across the nation. By enabling seamless information flow, targeted referrals, and vendor-agnostic systems, we’re creating the federated infrastructure CalAIM envisioned—one that supports integrated, data-informed care for the whole person.” It's truly exciting to see this level of commitment to making integrated care the new standard in California! IDENTOS Inc. is also working on creating products and solutions for seamless data interoperability between systems that enable the flow of consented information across key stakeholders. Initiatives and projects, like the ones undertaken by SacValley Medshare, highlight the importance of all the hard work we are collectively doing to care for the whole person. https://lnkd.in/gMQ8XbAm #WholePersonCare #CalAIM #HealthcareInnovation #HealthIT #SDOH #Interoperability #HealthEquity #CommunityHealth #PublicHealth #HIE #CIE #DxF

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CEOs want AI for everything. CHROs know it's more complicated than that. ...was one of the themes at Hone's executive dinner in Phoenix last night. AI can provide meaningful gains. For example, a recruiting team able to maintain throughput with half the headcount. However, when it comes to processes where humanity is an essential part of the equation, like scaling customer or franchisee relationships or effective employee development, there was reluctance to go all-in on AI. People leaders are right to take a sober look at AI's true capabilities in the here and now, and be wary of throwing the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to human connection. By all means scale, amplify, automate, and enhance with AI, but when empathy, nuance, accountability, and shared experience are key, find ways to retain the human dimension in your workflows. Or you'll be correcting your over-correction later. If others have grappled with this let us know! Thanks Kristen Bracamonte Switzer, CPTM, Sandra Lamartine, Heather Brazik Smith, Lauren Patel, Jill Patterson, Cindy Jones, Cammy Wood, Will Briggs, Cameron Warner, Stacie Bartow and Steak 44 for a fantastic night 🎉 🌵 💡

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One of the most misunderstood frameworks as it relates to the A-player, B-player, etc. framework - here's some ready to re-familiarize yourself https://lnkd.in/gMTT2p3T Only more experience people are A-players, right? Here is a summary - A Players (10-20%): High performers who exceed expectations and solve problems proactively - found at any level, including driven juniors who learn rapidly - B Players (70-80%): Reliable performers meeting expectations, forming organizational backbone - includes experienced staff, some with A-player potential - C Players (10%): Persistent underperformers requiring excessive oversight - not about inexperience but ongoing performance issues despite feedback Key differentiators: A players seek feedback (constantly), take risks, mentor others, and achieve goals resourcefully - traits that transcend seniority Talent implications: Invest in A players, develop B players, address C players decisively - junior A players often outperform senior B/C players. Whats critical to understand is how this relates to hiring - since the frameworks lends itself better to evaluating existing teams Here are some things to think about - A player does NOT mean senior- someone straight out college can be an A player - A track record of past performance and going above and beyond is a good indicator of future behavior and results - Time spent on C players is time poorly spent - over and over again this is the biggest mistake that managers and leaders make. The data tells you that it's not a good use of your time - spend time with the A and B players and get acceleration. Spend time with C players and get lower productivity How do you think about hiring and talent?

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The contingent workforce industry is at an inflection point and the inflection is caused by rapid adoption of AI based Freelance Management systems transforming how companies think about both their contingent and total talent strategies. Staffing Industry Analysts just released their 2025 FMS Global Landscape Report, and the data tells a story about fundamental industry transformation, not just technology adoption. For decades, managing contractors meant navigating fragmented systems, compliance headaches, and limited visibility into spend and performance. Organizations paid the price in time, risk, and missed opportunities. Freelancers dealt with payment delays and administrative friction that got in the way of doing great work. Freelancer Management Systems are fundamentally changing this equation. The value creation is profound: Risk mitigation at scale: Companies are moving from reactive compliance management to proactive risk mitigation across multiple jurisdictions. The cost of getting this wrong has never been higher. Data becomes intelligence: Real-time visibility into contractor spend, performance, and workforce composition is enabling strategic decisions that were simply impossible before. CFOs and procurement teams finally have the data they need. Speed creates advantage: What used to take weeks (sourcing, onboarding, contracting, payments) now happens in days or hours. In fast-moving markets, this operational speed translates directly to competitive advantage. Integration multiplies value: When FMS platforms connect seamlessly with existing HR, finance, and procurement systems, organizations multiply the value of their entire tech stack rather than adding another disconnected tool. What the SIA research makes clear: the organizations winning with contingent talent aren’t simply using better software. They’re fundamentally rethinking their approach to workforce agility, unlocking talent pools they couldn’t access before, and building operational capabilities that become genuine competitive advantages. The spreadsheet era of contractor management isn’t just outdated. It’s leaving measurable value on the table: slower time to hire, elevated compliance risk, limited workforce intelligence, and constrained access to specialized talent. The question isn’t whether to adopt FMS technology. It’s how quickly your organization can capture the value it creates. In the link in the comments or just DM me to get the SIA’s YunoJuno showcase report to understand what leading organizations look for when evaluating an FMS and how YunoJuno supports modern contingent workforce strategies. ‍ #ContingentWorkforce #FreelanceManagement #FutureOfWork #Procurement YunoJuno

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I’ve been talking with founders about how painful enterprise customization still is — even in 2025. David Dworsky and Gordon Ritter just put words to what we’ve been seeing: the age of point-and-click configuration is ending, and the next category winners will make customization conversational. For early-stage founders, this is the wedge: - Own one painful workflow - Capture the data - Build toward becoming a system of record If you’re building in this space, I’d love to hear how you’re approaching it. Link to the full article on this in the comments. 

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The top 1% of healthtech operators aren’t just looking for comp. They want mission, ownership, and data-backed traction. Candidates ask: “Is this platform clinically validated?” “Does the company understand FDA, CPT, and payer dynamics?” “Are there real outcomes or just a slick demo?” If your team can speak to these things early in the process, you’ll win top talent.

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