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Listen "EP 279 What Founders Need to Know About Building Effective Startup Boards"
Episode Synopsis
Knowing when to form and build a Board of Directors is a challenge for many startup founders.Once the Board is formed, how to manage and communicate with the Board presents an additional burden on founders.Our guest, Mahendra Ramsinghani, co-authored Startup Boards: Getting the Most of Your Board of Directors with Brad Feld, and has all the insights and advice you need to skillfully navigate this important segment of your startup’s structure.Currently, Mahendra is the Founder of Secure Octane - a cybersecurity seed fund based in the San Francisco Bay area.He’s invested in over fifty pre-seed and seedstage companies and, as the former Director of Venture Capital Initiatives for Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Mahendra led the legislation for two Fund-of-Fund programs in Michigan. Mahendra is also the author of two additional books - The Business of Venture Capital and The Resilient Founder.To purchase a copy of Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors, please visit: https://amzn.to/3N7YfjzConnect with Mahendra via these links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahendraram/Website: https://www.thebusinessofvc.com/Thank you for carving out time to improve your Founder Game - when you do better, your startup will do better - cheers from Boston!Ande ♥https://andelyons.com#boardofdirectors #startupboards #buildingeffectivestartupboards #founderadvice WHAT WE LEARNED00:00 - Meet Seasoned Startup Investor Mahendra Ramsinghani09:00 - Mahendra's origin story13:00 - Not knowing what to do can be either paralyzing or empowering18:00 - Mahendra's investor journey - how it began and how it's going25:00 - Secure Octane32:00 - When does a startup need to establish a Board34:00 - Who should be on a Board and how many members are needed based on stage of funding: Seed/Series A-D36:30 39:00 - Legal requirements for Boards and fiduciary responsibilities41:00 - What are the Board's responsibilities and what are the Founder's responsibilities43:20 - Who is in charge45:00 - Communication strategies and intellectual honesty48:00 - How does a Founder deliver bad news to a Board of Directors54:00 - Board of Director's Compensation Packages57:00 - How to off-ramp a toxic Board MemberJOIN STARTUP LIFE LIVE MEETUP GROUPGet an alert whenever I post a new show!https://bit.ly/StartupLifeLIVEWBENC APPLICATION SUPPORTLearn more here: https://bit.ly/GetWBENCSend me an email: [email protected] WITH ME ONLINE: https://twitter.com/AndeLyonshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/andelyons/ https://www.instagram.com/ande_lyons/ TikTok: @andelyonsANDELICIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTSJoin Innovation Women here: https://bit.ly/AndeInnoWomenArlan’s Academy: https://arlansacademy.com/Scroobious - use Ande15 discount code: https://www.scroobious.com/How to Raise a Seed Round: https://bit.ly/AAElizabethYinTune in to Mia Voss' Shit We Don't Talk About podcast here: https://shitwedonttalkaboutpodcast.com/SPONSORSHIPIf you resonate with the show’s mission of amplifying diverse founder voices while serving first-time founders around the world, please reach out to me to learn more about making an impact through sponsoring the Startup Life LIVE Show! [email protected].
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