Comments on: Which type of investor makes the best board member? http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/ Simeon Simeonov on entrepreneurship, innovation & venture capital Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:31:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Simeon Simeonov http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18248 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:02:10 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18248 Good point, especially since it’s very hard to remove board members.

]]> By: theo949 http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18246 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:44:32 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18246 Again lots of good points here. I would add that CEOs should find out how dedicated the board member would be.

We had a great board member ex-entrepreneur with several exits under his belt. He would take senior managers to lunch and breakfast on regular bases. That simple act helped us retain key figures in our business and ultimately helped us stay profitable through tough times.

Theo

]]> By: Dave Broadwin http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18187 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:15:46 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18187 A related issue with boards of VC financed companies is that they tend to have multiple VCs on the board. Even when they are all good, the company tends to get the same point of view repetitively. I am not sure there is cure for this because each investor wants, and deserves, board representation. You can always make the board bigger, I suppose, but then other problems of board management creep in.

]]> By: Top startup articles of the week « Startup Musings http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18174 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:15:58 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18174 [...] Which type of investor make the best board member? [...]

]]> By: Simeon Simeonov http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18164 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:19:45 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18164 Gary, this is definitely one area to think carefully about.

Also, the board should be built for the company, acknowledging that the CEO may change for any number of reasons.

]]> By: clearvalue http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18156 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:18:42 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18156 I think the answer to this question often depends on what the entrepreneur/CEO thinks or knows are his/her weaknesses where help is needed. Also depends on the experience profile of the CEO and the board members – - how they might compliment each other.

]]> By: Simeon Simeonov http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18153 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:22:42 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18153 Ralph, you are absolutely right–the goal is to have a strong, independent board that’s well-suited for the company and its current and future (!) leadership.

The task becomes particularly complicated when you have a limited set of choices that don’t mesh well with who’s already on the board.

]]> By: Ralph Folz http://blog.simeonov.com/2009/11/16/which-investor-makes-the-best-board-member/#comment-18152 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:18:30 +0000 http://blog.simeonov.com/?p=594#comment-18152 Building a good Board is like thinking about a baseball lineup. Would you rather have a Board of 5 Manny Ramirez’s, or a Board of Beckett, Pedroia, Youkilis, Bay, and Elisbury? How can you answer the “quick test” without knowing the other players?

P.S. I don’t think they would let you write the multiple choice for an MCAS test!

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