A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JUNE 25, 2020

The board diversity problem is a symptom of a much broader problem around lack of diversity in founders that get funded and lack of diversity in VC firms. Most startup boards are made up of a few founders and a few VCs. No wonder you have no diversity on the board. 1/ When a startup board is created, there should be two independent seats on it. 2/ VCs should accept observer seats instead of board seats when they invest in companies. But boards are important.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. msuster Many investors don't know how to be good Board members.  —  @bznotes So I thought I’d offer some high-level advice on how to be a good board member.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 16, 2020

I’ve been asked this question a bunch in the last few weeks in response to my post about more diversity on Boards. A Company should have a Board the day it is formed. The Board should contain one Founder (or possibly two) and at least two independent Directors. I know that many founders want to control their Boards for as long as possible. My answer to this question is simple.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

When you set up a board it is often initially a combination of the founders and the early investors. This post sets out how I believe founders (and investors) should think about independent board members having worked with many of them for the past 20 years.

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GAN

JANUARY 14, 2020

For most companies, that means having a board of directors. A board can be great in the right circumstances, but a board can also wield a ton of power over a CEO because they’re often investors who have capital in your company, which usually conveys them some tangible rights to it (like the ability to fire the CEO, to impact budgets, to change the overall direction of the company, etc.). This is where I believe an advisory board is critical for every startup.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

One of the things that founders have the most angst about is whom they should have on their board and at what stage of the business. Bad board members can make business very unpleasant. Do you need a board when you first start you company? Who Should be on Your Startup Board?

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Startups that are backed by professional financial investors almost always have a Board of Directors that consists of some set of founders, investors and sometimes independent directors. What exactly is the purpose of a Board of Directors and how do boards best function?

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Y Combinator

JULY 15, 2019

One of the most common questions we hear from founders is “How do I manage my board?” It’s something that provokes anxiety, because this is the first time the founder/CEO is subject to external supervision, and the board has powers that include the firing of the CEO and the senior management. Where possible, I’ve included specific examples – drawn from YC companies and partners – of how companies have handled board issues. But first, what’s the purpose of a board?

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The Seraf Compass

AUGUST 28, 2019

Over the past few years, there has been much talk about the importance of investing both financial and human capital into the rapidly expanding entrepreneurial ecosystem. From our perspective, human capital is as important as financial capital in driving the long term success of startup companies.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 12, 2010

I recently wrote an article on how to respond to board members between meetings. It seems to me this is the main problem with boards. So when I read my post it sounded to me more like a new philosophy for “The Agile Board,&# so I put that as my subtitle.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I’ve written a few posts about boards recently as part of a series on the subject. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic.

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TechStars

AUGUST 27, 2019

Copeland brings breadth of corporate, government, higher education and startup leadership experience to growing board. To learn more about the Techstars leadership team and Board of Directors, please visit: [link]. ###. About Techstars stephanie copeland techstars board

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Berkonomics

MARCH 8, 2018

Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over four years of service. Many early stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Here is my best advice, based upon many boards and many years.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

Should All of Your Management Team Attend Board Meetings? The age old question for every startup is whom to involve in the board meeting. If you’ve taken the time to assemble important people on to your board then you ought to use the scare time you have together to pick their brains.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 11, 2018

Some of you have gotten along forever without a board of directors, or used your spouse as the “other” board member from the start. But there are some very good reasons to build a great board composed of some outside members. Today, we cover an ideal board’s collective mindset.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2017

Many board meetings are bored meetings. This is a shame since the value that the right board could add is immense if you select the right board members and manage them effectively. Yesterday I wrote a blog post about what the role of a board actually is. Boards take work.

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This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Forming a board. Board members can provide useful feedback, help to focus the founding team, and provide a network of contacts. . That''s how board participation can help an advisor scale. So why wait until you have a company to setup a board? Setting up a simple board before you''ve even got a company can help you get into the practice of collecting feedback and getting nudged back into focus.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

I’ve sat on many boards over the past 2 decades and seen my share of high-functioning boards and low-functioning boards. Even the best companies with the best outcomes, however, usually hit some difficult moments where a highly-functioning boards matter.

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Gust

DECEMBER 3, 2011

And I don’t mean because they lend a credible name to an investor pitch: way too many entrepreneurs look at names on Advisory Board as just a way to expedite a raise. If that’s all you really expect of the Board, you’re cheating yourself as well as the investors before whom you dangled the names. Proper use of Advisory Boards begins with proper construction. But the real key to good results is that you have to keep the Board members engaged and educated.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Most board meetings are administrative updates that accomplish very little other than inform board members about the performance of the company since the last board meeting. This is part of a broader series on Board Meetings. The board goes through admin approvals.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2012

It has always surprised me that founders were so quick to fight over how many board members there were and so quick to agree to have as many board observers as people wanted. I have always been vehemently against board observers and wrote some of the reasons in this previous post.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He wrote a post this long weekend on how he manages the board of DataSift. In his post he asserts, “You get the VCs you deserve” and the corollary “You get the performance out of your board that you deserve.” I am on a board that does business with Yahoo!

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Gust

JULY 15, 2012

I recommend that every early-stage startup find three Advisory Board members. Besides laying out the benefits, your advisory board invitation letter also might include: Your business plan executive summary. The Advisory Board’s objectives and focus.

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The Seraf Compass

JULY 29, 2020

Running a successful board meeting requires planning and discipline. To help you orchestrate great board meetings, we pulled together a collection of well-tested guidelines that will make any early stage company board more productive

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Berkonomics

MARCH 17, 2018

I’ve been sued as a board member too many times over the past twenty-five years of board service. Entrepreneurs blaming their board for failures of a fragile, early stage company. As a result, I now insist upon D&O insurance for every board upon which I sit. Close.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2009

Many startup companies hire advisory boards. So do advisory boards really add value? In my experience most advisory boards under deliver relative to expectations. Ok, next advisory board meeting in 60-90 days. This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2009

I wrote recently about the role of Advisory Boards in startups , which I expected to be a bit controversial. It’s just that many companies waste equity on advisory boards, pick the wrong advisers or set up advisory boards with the wrong expectations.

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Innovation 2 Enterprise

FEBRUARY 2, 2020

“Whether it is experience, age, gender, race, or any other trait, the different life and work experiences that individuals bring to a company or a board of directors provides a significant advantage in problem solving and strategic planning, which ultimately creates the best outcome for all.” Last week the CEO of Goldman Sachs announced that Goldman won’t take companies public anymore unless they have at least one “diverse” board member.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 22, 2019

Boards are elected by the shareholders, sometimes with preferred shareholders holding seats by right of their investment. In that instance, often the investor selects the board member and the CEO goes along with the choice, mostly out of having no alternative at the time. It happens.

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Gust

JULY 12, 2012

A board seat in and of itself has no particular value, and is often something to be *avoided*, rather than sought out. The legal role of the board is to make strategic and corporate-level decisions, hire/fire the CEO, and represent all of the stockholders of the company. Indeed, being a member of the board of directors means that you have a legal, fiduciary responsibility to the other investors, and are required to put the stockholders interests ahead of your personal ones.

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Gust

MAY 31, 2014

A company’s board of directors is technically elected by the company’s shareholders. So before a startup receives outside funding, the board is “elected” by—and usually consists of—the founders (although it may exist in name only.). This agreement includes, among other things, specific procedures for determining who gets to pick the members of the board. Invested Interests board of directors business entrepreneur founders startup

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2019

Managing Your Startup Board?—?A My talk was about “ managing your startup board ” and the full deck is on that SlideShare link and embedded below. How Do Boards Get Out of Sync? I think this analogy can hold for boards. Why Does My Board Get So Unfocused at Board Meetings?

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

No matter what your size, if you intend to grow your business into more than just a lifestyle workplace, you should create a board of directors. If you take money from knowledgeable investors, you will be required to create a board as a part of the investment process.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

There’s a lot of mystique about what happens at board meetings and a lot of imagined board-room drama. In some ways being a board member is like how I’ve heard people describe learning to become a pilot: Many hours of boredom followed by some brief moments of absolute panic and fear.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 10, 2019

And because you need their money, the temptation is to listen a bit too well, and take all of the advice thrown at you during your presentations and during due diligence and finally from the vantage point of a board seat. Some board members may show dismay.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2019

Given how seldom you come together you’d imagine you’d have the boards’ full attention during this time. How to Deal with Electronic Distractions Of course the biggest competition you have with the attention of your board members is their mobile phones.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

Should You Allow Board Observers on Your Startup Board? Photo by Antenna on Unsplash A board observer is somebody who attends your board meeting but doesn’t have a voting right. There are also certain points in a board meeting where you can ask the board observers to step out of the room unless they’ve negotiated specific rights that preclude this. Why do board observers exist? Note: This is part of a series on Startup Boards.

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