Startup Boards - A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors

A comprehensive guide on creating, growing, and leveraging a board of directors written for CEOs, board members, and people seeking board roles.
 
The first time many founders see the inside of a board room is when they step in to lead their board. But how do boards work? How should they be structured, managed, and leveraged so that startups can grow, avoid pitfalls, and get the best out of their boards? Authors Brad Feld, Mahendra Ramsinghani, and Matt Blumberg have collectively served on hundreds of startup and scaleup boards over the past 30 years, attended thousands of board meetings, encountered multiple personalities and situations, and seen the good, bad, and ugly of boards.
 
In Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors, the authors provide seasoned advice and guidance to CEOs, board members, investors, and anyone aspiring to serve on a board. This comprehensive book covers a wide range of topics with relevant tips, tactics, and best practices, including:
* Board fundamentals such as the board's purpose, legal characteristics, and roles and functions of board members;
* Creating a board including size, composition, roles of VCs and independent directors, what to look for in a director, and how to recruit directors;
* Compensating, onboarding, removing directors, and suggestions on building a diverse board;
* Preparing for and running board meetings;
* The board's role in transactions including selling a company, buying a company, going public, and going out of business;
* Advice for independent and aspiring directors.
 
Startup Boards draws on the authors' experience and includes stories from board members, startup founders, executives, and investors. Any CEO, board member, investor, or executive interested in creating an active, involved, and engaged board should read this book--and keep it handy for reference.

List of contents

Foreword xiii
 
Prefacex vii
 
Section 1: Board Fundamentals 1
 
Chapter 1: Introduction 3
 
What's New in the Second Edition 4
 
Who This Book Is For 6
 
Magic Words, Phrases, Abbreviations, and Style 7
 
Note 9
 
Chapter 2 : The Board's Purpose 11
 
Accountability 12
 
General Responsibilities 12
 
Chapter 3: Legal Characteristics 15
 
A Board Member's Legal Duties 16
 
Addressing Conflicting Duties 18
 
Benefit Corporations and the B Corp Movement 20
 
Should You Get D&O Insurance? 21
 
Note 23
 
Chapter 4: Board Member Roles 25
 
Chair or Lead Director 25
 
Executive Chair 28
 
Should You Be Chair of Your Board? 29
 
Independent Board Members 30
 
Board Observers 30
 
Outside Counsel 32
 
Note 34
 
Chapter 5: Board Functions 35
 
The Role of Board Committees 35
 
Informal Responsibilities of a Board 36
 
Control Priorities 37
 
Being Rich and Queen (or King) 39
 
Shareholder Rights 40
 
Economic and Performance Priorities 41
 
Emotional Priorities: Trust, Judgment, and Transparency 42
 
Notes 43
 
Section 2: Creating Your Board 45
 
Chapter 6: Size and Composition 47
 
Management 48
 
Investors 49
 
Independents 50
 
Matt's Rule of 1s 51
 
Notes 52
 
Chapter 7: VCs and Boards 53
 
Notes 56
 
Chapter 8: Board Evolution 57
 
Startup Stages 57
 
Limiting the Number of Investor Board Members 59
 
Managing Independent Seats 60
 
Chapter 9: What to Look for in a Director 63
 
General Skills 63
 
Fit with Your Existing Board 64
 
What Does Your Company Need? 65
 
Experiences 66
 
Attributes 69
 
Governance Philosophy 69
 
Chapter 10: Recruiting and Interviewing Board Members 71
 
Sourcing 71
 
The Interview Process 73
 
Interviewing VCs Before They Join Your Board 76
 
Chapter 11: Compensation 77
 
VCs and Management 77
 
Independent Directors 78
 
Notes 80
 
Chapter 12: Board Diversity 81
 
Unconscious Bias 81
 
The First Step: Appoint Independent Directors Early 83
 
The Second Step: Open Your Search to Board- Ready First- Timers 83
 
Notes 86
 
Chapter 13: Onboarding Your Directors 87
 
Using Employee Onboarding as a Guide 87
 
Onboarding New Directors 88
 
Interacting with Your Team 89
 
Chapter 14: Removing a Board Member 91
 
Removing a Founder Director 92
 
Removing an Investor Director 92
 
Removing an Independent Director 93
 
Getting Rid of the Entire Board 94
 
Notes 95
 
Chapter 15: Is an Advisory Board Useful? 97
 
Board of Directors vs. Advisory Board 98
 
Attributes of a Useful Advisory Board Member 99
 
Selecting Advisory Board Members 100
 
Building an Advisory Board 100
 
Challenges of Advisory Boards 101
 
Notes 102
 
Section 3: Preparing for and Running the Board Meeting 103
 
Chapter 16: Preparing for the Board Meeting 105
 
The Value of Preparation 106
 
The Meeting Agenda 107
 
Focus on Critical Items 108
 
The Board Book 109
 
Creating an Annual Calendar 113
 
Notes 114
 
Chapter 17: Meeting Dynamics 115
 
Seating 115
 
The Meeting Length 116
 
Including Your Team in the Board Meet

About the author

BRAD FELD has invested in startups for over 25 years and co-founded Foundry and Techstars. He is the author of multiple books, including Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist and Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City.
MATT BLUMBERG is the CEO of Bolster, an on-demand talent marketplace that supports startup and scaleup CEOs. He is the author of Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business and Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company's Critical Functions and Teams. MAHENDRA RAMSINGHANI is the founder of Secure Octane, a cybersecurity seed fund in the San Francisco Bay area. He is the author of The Business of Venture Capital and The Resilient Founder: Lessons in Endurance from Startup Entrepreneurs.

Summary

A comprehensive guide on creating, growing, and leveraging a board of directors written for CEOs, board members, and people seeking board roles.

The first time many founders see the inside of a board room is when they step in to lead their board. But how do boards work? How should they be structured, managed, and leveraged so that startups can grow, avoid pitfalls, and get the best out of their boards? Authors Brad Feld, Mahendra Ramsinghani, and Matt Blumberg have collectively served on hundreds of startup and scaleup boards over the past 30 years, attended thousands of board meetings, encountered multiple personalities and situations, and seen the good, bad, and ugly of boards.

In Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors, the authors provide seasoned advice and guidance to CEOs, board members, investors, and anyone aspiring to serve on a board. This comprehensive book covers a wide range of topics with relevant tips, tactics, and best practices, including:
* Board fundamentals such as the board's purpose, legal characteristics, and roles and functions of board members;
* Creating a board including size, composition, roles of VCs and independent directors, what to look for in a director, and how to recruit directors;
* Compensating, onboarding, removing directors, and suggestions on building a diverse board;
* Preparing for and running board meetings;
* The board's role in transactions including selling a company, buying a company, going public, and going out of business;
* Advice for independent and aspiring directors.

Startup Boards draws on the authors' experience and includes stories from board members, startup founders, executives, and investors. Any CEO, board member, investor, or executive interested in creating an active, involved, and engaged board should read this book--and keep it handy for reference.

Product details

• Authors: Matt Blumberg, Blumberg Matt, B Feld, Brad Feld, Brad Blumberg Feld, Brad Ramsinghani Feld, Feld Brad, Mahendra Ramsinghani, Ramsinghani Mahendra
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2022
• EAN: 9781119859284
• ISBN: 978-1-119-85928-4
• No. of pages: 256
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Mathematics; Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management; Management, Mathematik, Vorstand, Mathematics, Business & management, Wirtschaft u. Management, Spezialthemen Wirtschaft u. Management, Business & Management Special Topics, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Klein- u. mittelständische Unternehmen u. Existenzgründung, Mathematik in Wirtschaft u. Finanzwesen, Business & Finance