Startup Boards: Getting the Most Out of Your Board of Directors

Written by Brad Feld and Mahendra Ramsinghani

Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

By far, the best way to make sure you have an awesome board is to start by having awesome Board members.  In Startup Boards, Brad Feld talks about how having awesome Board members is managing them well giving transparent information, well organized, with enough lead time before a meeting; running great and engaging meetings; mixing social time with business time; and being a Board member yourself at some other organization so you see the other side of the equation. Its about taking the process of choosing Board Members seriously, interviewing many people, checking references, and remembering that there should be no fear in rejecting a wrong fit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Jun 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781663703033

Reviews for Startup Boards

[willszal-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am currently the President of a startup board. We're participating in a tech accelerator, and in my request for mentorship in this role, I was recommended this book.This book gives a fair but not excellent overview of how to setup and manage the Board of a for-profit startup.Some takeaways:* Your board is as important as your executive team, and you should treat the addition of new board members just as thoroughly as you would hiring a new executive* Board members (unlike shareholders) have two legal duties: the Duty of Care and the Duty of Loyalty* Startup Boards generally begin composed of maybe three members, such as two founders and one independent* At A Round, two investors tend to join from VC firms that participated in the round* Board members should serve as mentors to their CEO, but they are not their friends, and shouldn't be thought of as such (as it is the Board the hires and fires the CEO)* The Board is legally responsible for the startup, and can be personally liable in the instance of a poorly managed bankruptcy, etc.* CEOs of peer startups tend to make for good independent directors* The authors recommend startup boards meet monthly for the first two years of an enterprise, every six weeks for years three and four, and quarterly after that—although the particulars depend on the needs of the company* Your lawyer should attend all Board meetings (which they may do at a free or reduced rate). They take minutes. Minutes record the minimum amount of information to meet legal requirements (such as the outcome of a vote) and nothing more (as too much detail could become a liability in a lawsuit).* Generally, investor directors aren't compensated, as they already have equity, and founder directors aren't compensated specifically for their board role, as they receive a salary. Independent board directors can should likely receive compensation though to make it worth their while, although likely in stock rather than cash.One caveat is that this book is written for traditional tech startups in a traditional fundraising environment. As a crypto project with a non-profit side, some of their advice is off-base for my company, as industry norms have yet to be honed.