Panel, Fireside Chat
a16z Podcast | How to Lead, Not Manage Your Board
- Aaron Levy anticipates transitioning his current board experience to public board status and sharing lessons learned thereafter, while recommending early-stage flexibility over deep domain expertise and the later addition of directors with specific skills (e.g., sales, finance) to augment internal talent and target enterprise markets, with potential impactful hires occurring within two to three years.
- The speaker who built the Ironport board expects that a composition of two VCs and two CEOs in early rounds allows stopping VC additions by the third and fourth rounds, anticipating a shift to a financial expert for public readiness, and warns that planning external board inclusion from the start prevents a board of six VCs.
- Dan Warmenhoven suggests that more than one outsider on a Series A board may be excessive but notes that an operating director provides value as a mediator, while also asserting that VCs added in the first round typically remain for the next 10 years and that reference checks are critical.
- Scott Weiss expects early-stage board members to be experienced operators who aid business model evolution given that most companies pivot by market entry, while a Series B or C board should resemble a "baseball team" with diverse skills to ensure honest conversations, as domain experts may lack the proximity to move operational needles until later stages.
- Expectations regarding board size indicate a target of eight members (CEO plus seven) for public companies to accommodate committees, with any board larger than eight considered too large, and a recommendation to avoid junior partners or law firm observers who might detract from conversation intimacy.
- Meeting cadence is expected to shift from monthly or six-weekly sessions in early stages to quarterly Series C meetings, with public company boards potentially meeting four to eight times annually for specific topics, while executive org chart reviews should occur two to three times annually.
- Preparation standards include distributing board packages two to three days in advance (ideally 48 to 72 hours), requiring directors to read materials beforehand rather than having them read verbatim, and utilizing a memo system over slides to force narrative development from the CEO.
- Governance practices include holding private executive sessions without the CEO to discuss feedback candidly, avoiding the attendance of the CEO's direct reports (like a COO) in performance discussions to prevent awkwardness, and ensuring bad news is shared quickly to avoid surprises.
- Operational expectations dictate that board members must be available 24/7 for critical issues, with unprepared members being removed, while coaching and personal development should be sought outside the boardroom through coaches or mentor networks rather than during meetings.
- Communication strategies involve sending monthly board update letters to force cohesive thought and leverage existing content, delegating letter creation to reduce CEO workload, and ensuring directors receive copies of or are involved in all-hands communications.