Airtable Starter Bases for Startups
graph LR
CRM["CRM / Sales Pipeline"]
INV["Investor Tracker"]
CON["Content Calendar"]
OKR["OKR Tracker"]
HIRE["Hiring Pipeline"]
CRM -->|"Won deals fund"| OKR
CRM -->|"Case studies from"| CON
INV -->|"Investor updates via"| CON
OKR -->|"Hiring goals drive"| HIRE
OKR -->|"Revenue targets in"| CRM
HIRE -->|"Team announcements"| CON
style CRM fill:#4B8BBE,color:#fff
style INV fill:#6A4C93,color:#fff
style CON fill:#1982C4,color:#fff
style OKR fill:#F77F00,color:#fff
style HIRE fill:#D62828,color:#fff
> Disclaimer: This is educational information for startup operations. Adapt all structures to your specific business needs. Airtable field types and features may change; verify against current Airtable documentation.
How to Use This Guide
Each base below includes:
- Table structures with exact field names and types (copy-paste ready)
- Recommended views to create after setup
- Automation suggestions to reduce manual work
Create each base separately in Airtable, then link them using the cross-base linking suggestions at the end.
1. CRM / Sales Pipeline
Table: Contacts
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Full Name | Single line text | Primary field |
| Email | Email | |
| Phone | Phone number | |
| Title | Single line text | Job title |
| Company | Link to another record | Links to Companies table |
| Source | Single select | Inbound, Outbound, Referral, Event, Website, LinkedIn |
| LinkedIn URL | URL | |
| Notes | Long text | Rich text enabled |
| Created Date | Created time | Auto-populated |
| Last Contacted | Date | Manual or automation-updated |
| Owner | Collaborator | Team member responsible |
Table: Companies
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Company Name | Single line text | Primary field |
| Website | URL | |
| Industry | Single select | Customize to your market |
| Company Size | Single select | 1-10, 11-50, 51-200, 201-500, 500+ |
| Contacts | Link to another record | Links to Contacts table |
| Deals | Link to another record | Links to Deals table |
| Annual Revenue | Currency | Estimated |
| Address | Long text | |
| Notes | Long text | |
Table: Deals
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Deal Name | Single line text | Primary field |
| Company | Link to another record | Links to Companies table |
| Primary Contact | Link to another record | Links to Contacts table |
| Stage | Single select | Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost |
| Deal Value | Currency | USD |
| Close Date | Date | Expected close |
| Probability | Percent | Win likelihood |
| Weighted Value | Formula | {Deal Value} * {Probability} |
| Source | Single select | Inbound, Outbound, Referral, Partner, Event |
| Activities | Link to another record | Links to Activities table |
| Days in Stage | Formula | DATETIME_DIFF(TODAY(), {Last Stage Change}, 'days') |
| Last Stage Change | Date | Update when stage changes |
| Owner | Collaborator | |
| Lost Reason | Single select | Price, Competitor, Timing, No Budget, No Response, Bad Fit |
Table: Activities
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Activity | Single line text | Primary field |
| Type | Single select | Call, Email, Meeting, Demo, Follow-up, Proposal Sent |
| Deal | Link to another record | Links to Deals table |
| Contact | Link to another record | Links to Contacts table |
| Date | Date | Include time |
| Notes | Long text | |
| Outcome | Single select | Positive, Neutral, Negative, No Show |
| Next Step | Single line text | |
| Owner | Collaborator | |
Recommended Views
- Kanban: Pipeline Board -- Group by Stage on the Deals table. This is your primary sales view.
- Calendar: Close Dates -- Calendar view on Deals, using Close Date. See what is expected to close when.
- Grid: My Deals -- Filtered to current user, sorted by Close Date ascending.
- Grid: Stale Deals -- Filter where Days in Stage > 14. Follow up on stuck opportunities.
- Gallery: Company Cards -- Gallery view on Companies showing key stats at a glance.
Automation Suggestions
- When Stage changes to Closed Won: Send a Slack notification to the team channel.
- When a new Deal is created: Send an email to the Owner with deal details.
- Every Monday at 9am: Send a summary of deals closing this week to the sales team.
- When Days in Stage > 7: Send a reminder to the deal Owner.
2. Investor Tracker
Table: Investors
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Investor / Firm Name | Single line text | Primary field |
| Type | Single select | Angel, Pre-Seed Fund, Seed Fund, Series A Fund, Family Office, Accelerator, Corporate VC |
| Check Size Min | Currency | Minimum investment |
| Check Size Max | Currency | Maximum investment |
| Thesis / Focus | Long text | What they invest in |
| Portfolio Companies | Long text | Notable investments |
| Website | URL | |
| Location | Single line text | City, State |
| Status | Single select | Researching, Intro Requested, Meeting Scheduled, Pitched, Term Sheet, Passed |
| Warm Intro Contact | Single line text | Who can make the introduction |
| Warm Intro Relationship | Single select | Strong, Medium, Weak, Cold |
| Meetings | Link to another record | Links to Meetings table |
| Follow-ups | Link to another record | Links to Follow-ups table |
| Priority | Single select | High, Medium, Low |
| Notes | Long text | |
| Last Contact Date | Date | |
Table: Meetings
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Meeting Title | Single line text | Primary field |
| Investor | Link to another record | Links to Investors table |
| Date | Date | Include time |
| Type | Single select | Intro Call, First Pitch, Partner Meeting, Due Diligence, Term Sheet Discussion |
| Attendees | Long text | Names and roles |
| Key Questions Asked | Long text | What they wanted to know |
| Our Answers | Long text | How we responded |
| Their Feedback | Long text | Candid notes |
| Sentiment | Single select | Very Positive, Positive, Neutral, Negative |
| Next Steps | Long text | |
| Deck Version Sent | Single line text | Track which version they saw |
| Follow-up Due | Date | |
Table: Follow-ups
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Follow-up Task | Single line text | Primary field |
| Investor | Link to another record | Links to Investors table |
| Meeting | Link to another record | Links to Meetings table |
| Due Date | Date | |
| Status | Single select | Pending, Sent, Complete, Overdue |
| Type | Single select | Thank You Email, Data Room Access, Financial Model, Customer Reference, Product Demo, Other |
| Notes | Long text | |
| Owner | Collaborator | |
Recommended Views
- Kanban: Fundraise Pipeline -- Group by Status on Investors. Your fundraising command center.
- Calendar: Meeting Schedule -- Calendar view on Meetings.
- Grid: Hot Leads -- Investors filtered to Priority = High, sorted by Last Contact Date.
- Grid: Overdue Follow-ups -- Follow-ups where Due Date < Today and Status != Complete.
- Grid: By Check Size -- Investors sorted by Check Size Max descending.
Automation Suggestions
- When Meeting is created: Auto-create a Follow-up record due 24 hours after meeting date with Type = Thank You Email.
- When Follow-up Due Date passes: Change Status to Overdue and notify Owner.
- When Investor Status changes to Passed: Prompt to record the reason in Notes.
- Weekly digest: Send summary of upcoming meetings and overdue follow-ups.
3. Content Calendar
Table: Content Pieces
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Title | Single line text | Primary field |
| Platform | Multiple select | Blog, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Newsletter, Podcast, Instagram, TikTok |
| Content Type | Single select | Article, Thread, Video, Short-form Video, Carousel, Infographic, Case Study, Newsletter Issue |
| Status | Single select | Idea, Drafting, Review, Scheduled, Published |
| Author | Collaborator | |
| Publish Date | Date | Scheduled or actual |
| Topic / Theme | Single select | Customize: Product, Industry, Culture, Customer Story, How-To, Thought Leadership |
| Draft Link | URL | Google Doc, Notion, etc. |
| Final Asset Link | URL | Link to published piece |
| CTA | Single line text | Call to action included |
| Target Audience | Single select | Prospects, Customers, Investors, Talent, General |
| SEO Keywords | Long text | For blog/web content |
| Notes | Long text | |
Table: Performance Metrics
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Metric Entry | Single line text | Primary field (auto: Title + Date) |
| Content Piece | Link to another record | Links to Content Pieces |
| Date Measured | Date | |
| Views / Impressions | Number | |
| Clicks / Engagement | Number | |
| Shares / Reposts | Number | |
| Comments | Number | |
| Conversions | Number | Signups, demos, etc. |
| Engagement Rate | Formula | {Clicks / Engagement} / {Views / Impressions} |
| Notes | Long text | |
Recommended Views
- Kanban: Content Pipeline -- Group by Status. Drag content through your workflow.
- Calendar: Publishing Calendar -- Calendar view on Content Pieces using Publish Date.
- Gallery: Published Content -- Filter Status = Published, show as gallery cards.
- Grid: By Platform -- Group by Platform to see content distribution.
- Grid: Top Performers -- Performance Metrics sorted by Engagement Rate descending.
Automation Suggestions
- When Status changes to Published: Prompt to create a Performance Metrics record for 7-day check-in.
- When a new Idea is added: Notify the content lead via Slack or email.
- Every Friday at 10am: Send a digest of content scheduled for the following week.
- When Publish Date is tomorrow and Status is not Scheduled: Send an alert.
4. OKR Tracker
Table: Objectives
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Objective | Single line text | Primary field |
| Quarter | Single select | Q1 2026, Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026 (update yearly) |
| Owner | Collaborator | Executive or team lead |
| Category | Single select | Growth, Product, Revenue, Team, Operations |
| Status | Single select | On Track, At Risk, Behind, Complete, Cancelled |
| Key Results | Link to another record | Links to Key Results table |
| Overall Progress | Rollup | Average of Key Results Progress % |
| Notes | Long text | |
| Created Date | Created time | |
Table: Key Results
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Key Result | Single line text | Primary field |
| Objective | Link to another record | Links to Objectives table |
| Owner | Collaborator | Individual responsible |
| Target Value | Number | The goal number |
| Current Value | Number | Updated regularly |
| Unit | Single select | %, $, #, NPS, Days, Users |
| Progress % | Formula | MIN({Current Value} / {Target Value}, 1) |
| Status | Single select | Not Started, On Track, At Risk, Behind, Complete |
| Quarter | Lookup | From linked Objective |
| Due Date | Date | End of quarter or custom |
| Updates | Long text | Weekly check-in notes |
| Last Updated | Last modified time | |
Recommended Views
- Kanban: By Status -- Group by Status on Objectives. Quick health check.
- Grid: Current Quarter -- Filter Objectives to current quarter, expand Key Results.
- Grid: My OKRs -- Filtered to current user across both tables.
- Grid: At Risk Items -- Filter Key Results where Status = At Risk or Behind.
- Grid: Quarterly Summary -- Group by Quarter, show Overall Progress.
Automation Suggestions
- Every Monday at 9am: Send a reminder to all Key Result Owners to update Current Value.
- When Progress % reaches 100%: Set Status to Complete and notify the Objective Owner.
- When Progress % < 50% and quarter is > 50% elapsed: Set Status to At Risk.
- End of quarter: Generate a summary report of all Objectives and their completion rates.
5. Hiring Pipeline
Table: Roles
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Role Title | Single line text | Primary field |
| Department | Single select | Engineering, Product, Design, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance |
| Level | Single select | Intern, Junior, Mid, Senior, Lead, Manager, Director, VP |
| Status | Single select | Draft, Open, On Hold, Filled, Cancelled |
| Hiring Manager | Collaborator | |
| Salary Range Min | Currency | |
| Salary Range Max | Currency | |
| Priority | Single select | Urgent, High, Medium, Low |
| Job Description Link | URL | |
| Target Start Date | Date | |
| Candidates | Link to another record | Links to Candidates table |
| Date Opened | Date | |
Table: Candidates
| Field Name | Field Type | Notes |
|---|
| Candidate Name | Single line text | Primary field |
| Email | Email | |
| Phone | Phone number | |
| Role | Link to another record | Links to Roles table |
| Stage | Single select | Applied, Phone Screen, Interview, Offer, Hired, Rejected |
| Source | Single select | Job Board, Referral, LinkedIn, Recruiter, Inbound, University |
| Resume Link | URL | Link to resume/CV |
| Portfolio Link | URL | |
| LinkedIn | URL | |
| Interview Date | Date | Next scheduled interview |
| Interviewer(s) | Multiple collaborators | |
| Interview Score | Rating | 1-5 stars |
| Salary Expectation | Currency | |
| Notes | Long text | Interview feedback, observations |
| Rejection Reason | Single select | Culture Fit, Skills Gap, Overqualified, Compensation, Chose Other Offer, Position Filled, No Show |
| Referral Source | Single line text | Who referred them |
| Days in Stage | Formula | DATETIME_DIFF(TODAY(), {Last Stage Change}, 'days') |
| Last Stage Change | Date | |
| Offer Date | Date | |
| Start Date | Date | |
Recommended Views
- Kanban: Hiring Pipeline -- Group by Stage on Candidates. Your main recruiting view.
- Calendar: Interviews -- Calendar view on Candidates using Interview Date.
- Grid: By Role -- Group Candidates by Role.
- Grid: Open Roles Dashboard -- Roles filtered to Status = Open, with candidate count rollup.
- Gallery: Candidate Cards -- Gallery view showing name, role, stage, and interview score.
Automation Suggestions
- When a new Candidate is added: Send a Slack notification to the Hiring Manager.
- When Stage changes to Interview: Send calendar invite details to interviewer(s).
- When Stage changes to Offer: Alert the HR/ops lead to prepare offer letter.
- When Days in Stage > 5 and Stage = Applied: Remind Hiring Manager to review.
- When Stage changes to Rejected: Send a (customizable) rejection email template.
Cross-Base Linking Strategy
Airtable does not natively support cross-base record linking, but you can connect these bases using these approaches:
- Airtable Sync: Use synced tables to pull key records (e.g., Closed Won deals from CRM into OKR Tracker as revenue data).
- Automations with webhooks: When a deal closes in CRM, trigger a content calendar entry for a case study.
- Shared lookup fields: Use a common identifier (e.g., company name) across bases for manual cross-referencing.
- Airtable Extensions: Use the Scripting extension to pull data between bases via the Airtable API.
Recommended Syncs
| Source Base | Source Table | Destination Base | Purpose |
|---|
| CRM | Deals (Closed Won) | OKR Tracker | Track revenue Key Results |
| CRM | Deals (Closed Won) | Content Calendar | Trigger case study creation |
| Hiring Pipeline | Candidates (Hired) | OKR Tracker | Track hiring Key Results |
| Investor Tracker | Investors | CRM | Post-investment relationship management |
| Content Calendar | Performance Metrics | OKR Tracker | Track content/marketing Key Results |
Quick Start Checklist
- [ ] Create each base from the tables above
- [ ] Set up the recommended views for each base
- [ ] Invite team members and assign Collaborator fields
- [ ] Configure 2-3 automations per base (start simple)
- [ ] Set up cross-base syncs for your most critical data flows
- [ ] Schedule a weekly review to keep data current
Nonpartisan informational resource for Missouri — District 2 — not legal, medical, or financial advice. Source: dougdevitre/access-to-business.
Paid for by Matt Grant for Congress.
