2 Oct 2007

How to Work with a Board of Directors

Nick Sturiale, a partner at the venture capital firm Sevin Rosen Funds, delivers a fine op-ed piece in the VentureBeat blog advising entrepreneurs (CEOs) to take full advantage of the resources that a Board of Directors offers (find it here). In my experience, I have seen it a number of times. An entrepreneur wants VC funding but does not know how to nurture the future relationship. A funding relationship is a marriage for better or worse. You can choose to nurture the relationship or ignore your partner until that person kicks you out of the house. Entrepreneurs often have the attitude that "I got us here, so I really don't need your advice". They ignore the fact that they needed the funding to get where they are. They can also ignore the fact that with VC funding comes a heavily experience board with a wealth of contacts who want you to succeed. As Nick astutely points out, take advantage of your Board Meeting to engage your Board and leverage their resources to your companies benefit. Nick gives some great tips on how to manage the Board Meeting, that any entrepreneur (with or without VC funding) should follow.