# Quickstart — Run Your First Board

> Two minutes from signup to your first synthesized recommendation. No card required.

**Canonical URL:** https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/getting-started  
**Markdown source:** https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/getting-started.md

## Step 1 — Sign up

[https://www.synthboard.ai](https://www.synthboard.ai) — email or Google. No credit card required. You get 250 bonus credits immediately and 150 every month afterward on the Free tier.

## Step 2 — Bring a real decision

The product works on real strategic questions. Skip the "test prompt" — bring an actual decision you are stuck on. Examples that work well on the Free tier:

- "Should I move enterprise pricing from $X to $Y?"
- "Should I hire a Head of Growth or a third engineer first?"
- "Is this term sheet aggressive enough?"
- "Should I take this acqui-hire offer?"
- "What is our biggest unspoken risk this quarter?"

Bad first prompts: open-ended brainstorms, single-fact questions, anything you'd ask Wikipedia.

## Step 3 — Pick a session mode

You have 10 modes. For your first session, **The Boardroom** is the right default — collaborative debate, balanced output. The full lineup:

- **The Boardroom** — collaborative advice from complementary experts.
- **Idea Lab** — divergent ideation without early critique.
- **Lightning Round** — fast, sharp opinions in under 100 words each.
- **The Arena** — adversarial exploration of opposing positions.
- **Shark Tank** — ruthless attack on a plan to surface every flaw (Pro+).
- **Command Center** — structured framework for choosing between options (Pro+).
- **War Room** — crisis triage with immediate action plans (Pro+).
- **Deep Dive** — thorough expert analysis with evidence (Max+).
- **Crystal Ball** — scenario planning with probability-weighted outcomes (Max+).
- **Research Lab** — evidence-first synthesis across disciplines (Max+).

## Step 4 — Pick your Synths

3 Synths on Free, up to 5 on Pro, 8 on Max, 12 on Ultra.

If you do not want to pick, **Smart Setup** picks for you based on the question. It is good. Use it.

If you want to pick yourself, here are starter lineups:

- **Strategy** — Strategist + CFO + Skeptic
- **Hire decision** — Recruiter + Manager + Empath
- **Pricing change** — CFO + Customer Champion + Growth Hacker
- **Pivot** — Strategist + Customer Champion + Devil's Advocate

## Step 5 — Run

Click run. The board executes across 2–3 rounds. You see Synths take positions in real time. You can intervene mid-session — ask follow-ups, send a Synth back, or dismiss a line of argument.

## Step 6 — Read the synthesis

When the board completes, you get:
- A **consensus score** (how aligned the board is).
- A **primary recommendation**.
- The **strongest counter-argument** (preserved minority opinion).
- The **decision audit trail** — who said what, where they shifted, where they held firm.

You can capture this as an explicit decision in your journal. Future sessions will reference it.

## What to do next

- **Run a second session.** The product gets sharper as the board accumulates context about your situation.
- **Connect a tool.** [Integrations](https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/integrations) → connect Gmail/Calendar/Slack/Linear so outcome inference can start working.
- **Try a different mode.** The Arena and Shark Tank produce qualitatively different output than The Boardroom.
- **[Read the manifesto](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-boardroom)** if you want the full why-this-exists.

## Troubleshooting

- **Session stuck?** See [troubleshooting](https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/troubleshooting).
- **OAuth failed?** Likely a tier or permission issue — see troubleshooting page.
- **Out of credits?** Free has 150/month. Top up any time, top-ups never expire.

## Related

- [How sessions work](https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/how-sessions-work)
- [Pricing](https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/pricing)
- [FAQ](https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/faq)

## How to cite this page

> SynthBoard quickstart — https://www.synthboard.ai/docs/getting-started

Site: https://www.synthboard.ai