You’ve got an operational company. You’ve raised money from an investor. That investor asked for a set on the board of directors. You agreed. Now what do you do? What does a board of directors do? How often do they meet? How do those meetings work?
General Concepts
Wikipedia and Investopedia.
Quick Overviews
Reading from Feld.com
Brad Feld is one of the most prolific startup investors in the world, a co-founder of the TechStars accelerator, and multiple entrepreneurs have told me he’s an awesome board member.
- The First Board Meeting
- Great Board Meetings
- The Best Board Meetings
- What Makes an Awesome Board Member?
- Getting the Most out of your Board of Directors
- Sample Board Meeting Minutes
Reading from Both Sides of the Table
Marc Suster doesn’t blog as often as Brad Feld, but nearly every one of his posts is worth reading. Here’s Marc’s series on startup boards:
- Startup Boards
- How to be a Good Board Member
- Should All of Management Attend Board Meetings?
- Who Should be on Your Board?
- The Role of Independent Directors on Boards
- Board Observers
- High-Functioning Boards
- How to Prepare Before Your Board Meeting
- Managing Your Startup Board — A Short Presentation
Reading from AVC.com
Fred Wilson has been blogging every day for years. He seems to be the most prolific voice of venture capital, especially impact-oriented tech companies (e.g. Etsy, Kickstarter, Twitter) well respected, well experienced, and full of useful knowledge:
- The Board Of Directors: Role and Responsibilities
- The Board Of Directors – Selecting, Electing & Evolving
- The Board Of Directors – The Board Chair
- The Board Of Directors: Board Chemistry
- The Board Of Directors: Board Meetings
- The Board Of Directors: Board Committees
- The Perfect Board
- Board Leadership
- Striking The Right Balance
Reading from Startup CEO
Matt Blumberg has literally written the book on Startup CEOs: