*Sample context. Ask Nessie "Prep me for my meeting with [person]" to generate one of your own.*

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## Who and Why

Sarah K., product lead at Linear for the last two years. We've talked twice directly (YC summer meetup; October dinner) and she's come up in three other conversations — David's warm intro over email, a call with my co-founder in November, an exec-coach session right after that.

Monday's coffee is informal but real. She's actively interviewing, and I've been slowly trying to get her interested in joining us as head of product.

## What I Know About Her (Pulled From Multiple Threads)

- **Wants ownership.** October dinner: "my role is big, but I don't actually drive the roadmap." David back-channeled the same thing in his intro — "her ceiling at Linear is the VP, and she knows it."
- **Technical enough to be dangerous.** Engineer → PM at Stripe → product lead at Linear. She can read code when she needs to.
- **Skeptical of early-stage companies.** YC meetup: "I've watched too many founders burn out their first PM." Two people who know her have since said the same thing unprompted. That's the real hesitation, not the paycut.
- **Her partner just got a job in NYC.** She might be moving; she might not. Don't assume either way.

## What I Want Out of This Conversation

Not a pitch. If I pitch too hard she'll read it as desperation and we lose the optionality of a slow recruit.

What I actually want:

1. Understand what she's optimizing for in her next role, in her words.
2. Surface whether our stage and ownership offer is compelling, without making it transactional.
3. Leave with a concrete next step — a trial project, a deeper call with the team, or a "let me think about it by X date."

## What to Bring Up Naturally

- The new launch (shows momentum without me having to claim momentum).
- The product tension we've been wrestling with (invites her taste to show up).
- Her concerns about founder burnout — I want her to name them so I can respond directly.

## What to Avoid

- Salary / equity specifics on a first real conversation (too soon, sets a transactional tone).
- Comparing us to Linear directly (competitive framing she doesn't need).
- Committing to a timeline before I know hers.
