An essential guide to understanding the dynamics of a startup’s
board of directors
Let’s face it, as founders and entrepreneurs, you have a lot on
your plate–getting to your minimum viable product, developing
customer interaction, hiring team members, and managing the
accounts/books. Sooner or later, you have a board of directors,
three to five (or even seven) Type A personalities who seek your
attention and at times will tell you what to do. While you might be
hesitant to form a board, establishing an objective outside group
is essential for startups, especially to keep you on track, call
you out when you flail, and in some cases, save you from
yourself.
In Startup Boards, Brad Feld–a Boulder,
Colorado-based entrepreneur turned-venture capitalist–shares
his experience in this area by talking about the importance of
having the right board members on your team and how to manage them
well. Along the way, he shares valuable insights on various aspects
of the board, including how they can support you, help you
understand your startup’s milestones and get to them faster, and
hold you accountable.
* Details the process of choosing board members, including
interviewing many people, checking references, and remembering that
there should be no fear in rejecting a wrong fit
* Explores the importance of running great meetings, mixing
social time with business time, and much more
* Recommends being a board member yourself at some other
organization so you see the other side of the equation
Engaging and informative, Startup Boards is a practical
guide to one of the most important pieces of the startup
puzzle.
board of directors
Let’s face it, as founders and entrepreneurs, you have a lot on
your plate–getting to your minimum viable product, developing
customer interaction, hiring team members, and managing the
accounts/books. Sooner or later, you have a board of directors,
three to five (or even seven) Type A personalities who seek your
attention and at times will tell you what to do. While you might be
hesitant to form a board, establishing an objective outside group
is essential for startups, especially to keep you on track, call
you out when you flail, and in some cases, save you from
yourself.
In Startup Boards, Brad Feld–a Boulder,
Colorado-based entrepreneur turned-venture capitalist–shares
his experience in this area by talking about the importance of
having the right board members on your team and how to manage them
well. Along the way, he shares valuable insights on various aspects
of the board, including how they can support you, help you
understand your startup’s milestones and get to them faster, and
hold you accountable.
* Details the process of choosing board members, including
interviewing many people, checking references, and remembering that
there should be no fear in rejecting a wrong fit
* Explores the importance of running great meetings, mixing
social time with business time, and much more
* Recommends being a board member yourself at some other
organization so you see the other side of the equation
Engaging and informative, Startup Boards is a practical
guide to one of the most important pieces of the startup
puzzle.
€19.99
Inhaltsverzeichnis
FOREWORD ixACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
PART ONE: OVERVIEW 1
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction 3
CHAPTER TWO
What Is a Board? 11
PART TWO: BUILDING YOUR BOARD 23
CHAPTER THREE
Creating Your Board 25
CHAPTER FOUR
Recruiting Board Members 49
CHAPTER FIVE
The Formal Structure of the Board 63
CHAPTER SIX
Aligning Your Board 71
CHAPTER SEVEN
Is an Advisory Board Useful? 77
PART THREE: THE BUSINESS OF THE BOARD MEETING 85
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Actual Board Meeting 87
CHAPTER NINE
Motions and Votes 101
CHAPTER TEN
Legal Challenges 111
PART FOUR: COMMUNICATIONS 115
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Managing Ongoing Expectations 117
CHAPTER TWELVE
Trying New Things 131
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Communication Confl icts 135
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CEO Transitions 143
PART FIVE: TRANSACTIONS 151
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Financings 153
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Selling a Company 157
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Going Public 167
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Going Out of Business 173
CHAPTER NINTEEN
Conclusion 179
APPENDIX
Checklist 1: Preparing Your Board Package 183
Checklist 2: Conducting Your Board’s Annual Assessment
185
Checklist 3: Question for Your Legal Counsel 187
Checklist 4: Should You Get Directors and Offi cers Insurance?
189
Checklist 5: Stock Option Grants and 409A Valuation 191
NOTES 195
INTERVIEWS 199
BIBLIOGRAPHY 201
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 203
INDEX 205
Excerpt from Startup CEO 211
Über den Autor
Brad Feld has been an early-stage investor andentrepreneur for over twenty years. Prior to cofounding Foundry
Group–a Boulder, Colorado-based early-stage venture
capital fund that invests in information technology companies all
over the United States–he cofounded Mobius Venture Capital
and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Feld is also a
cofounder of Techstars and has been active with several nonprofit
organizations. He is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics
of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship.
Mahendra Ramsinghani has over fifteen years of investment
and entrepreneurial experience and has led investments in over
fifty seed stage companies. He helped draft the underlying
legislation for a fund-of-funds for the state of Michigan. For his
contributions, Ramsinghani’s immigration to the United States was
approved under ’national interest.‘ He is the author of The
Business of Venture Capital (Wiley). His articles and blogs
have been published in Forbes, MIT Technology Review,
Thomson Reuters, and the Huffington Post. His educational
background includes a BE in electronics and MBA in finance and
marketing from the University of Pune, India.
Sprache Englisch ● Format EPUB ● Seiten 240 ● ISBN 9781118516829 ● Dateigröße 1.3 MB ● Verlag John Wiley & Sons ● Erscheinungsjahr 2013 ● Ausgabe 1 ● herunterladbar 24 Monate ● Währung EUR ● ID 2854082 ● Kopierschutz Adobe DRM
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