Common Categories: Movie/TV Show/Other Reactions, Financial Services, Executives, Real Estate, Startups
“A well-functioning board has productive discussions around strategic subjects, is well prepared, and is a safe environment where mistakes are analyzed”
“People emulate how their leaders think and act. If you seem never to change your mind, if you institute a hierarchical culture where people only speak up when they’re sure they’re right, those are the people you’re going to get. In a competitive undertaking like trading, the best ideas have many parents. The image of a lone genius sitting in a corner dreaming up profitable strats is, in 2020, just wrong. Leaders who participate as equals with their team reap the benefits of that collaborative culture”
“We usually take over the operational management when implementing our projects. In this way, a clear allocation of tasks is always ensured: Our experts take on all business functions so that the innovators can concentrate exclusively on the technical development”
A good board member takes into account the company context. Early stage ventures need very different help from a board than more mature companies. So being an experienced board member even from the same industry doesn’t necessarily mean the person is the right board member for your company.
“We believe the best cultures are ones which empower the founders to be focused and collaborative. We have simplified and productised our management reporting systems which give all stakeholders access to consistent objective data. Our partners success is directly related to the founders and all stakeholders interpretation of the same operating data”
“Burnout should be staved off if at all possible. It’s better to take frequent breaks and be productive than to burn the candle at both ends. Different individuals will desiderate different remedies, so being sensitive to individual needs (without getting burdened by micromanagement) is always to the fore”
“Every investor is different and their personal skill sets will also be different. Good investors know what they are good at and what they are not good at. Then they figure out how to get their companies everything they need. Even if they themselves are not good at it”
“Many excellent firms have their follow-on funding pulled simply because the market needs time to mature until they can cross the chasm, and the VC needs to close the fund. All of that technology, carefuly nurtured team, and a great culture ends up wasted, or acqui-hired for a pittance, whilst the staff ‘phone it in’ until they can vest and escape”
“Most businesses we purchase have a succession CEO in place who’s a professional CEO but has a tremendous amount of loyalty to the business and we typically require the exiting parties to stay in 10% to 25% so that loyalty is carried over”.
“A top performing manager will always challenge everything insofar as the strategy or tactics are incomplete or imperfect. That means always. In that sense tension is a constant, and a requirement of being a top performer”.
“If I had to choose, companies with an average performance would probably be the ones where I would invest less time, because by definition, things move slower for them”
“The individual culture of a board varies greatly. The best boards are efficient – they involve a pre-read, have a set agenda, set aside time for strategic discussions, and have a clear decision making process.”
“Realize first and foremost that they are people; treat them as such. If I’m making an early stage investment, I’m making an investment in the founders and I only benefit when they succeed. With exits averaging 5-7 years, that’s one hell of a journey that I’ll be a part of and I go into it considering them friends”
“The relationship often falls in two ways: sometimes investors become micromanagers haunting the growth of the companies, sometimes investors can’t even get involved. The first thing to remember is to keep the right distance, stay on board, but don’t give companies the feeling of being micromanaged. Try give a call every other week on daily matters, give some advice but control the big picture”.
“Entrepreneurs should put a lot more responsibilities on board members and not be afraid doing so. If the board is only for corp gov and you reporting to them you’ve failed”.
“What has worked really well for me is to prioritize what is best for the company and not for any individual or institution (including ourselves) who holds a board seat”.
“Whoever comes up with an idea must present a business case to the team that lays out how the idea aligns with the strategic objectives of READ based on factual argumentation, i.e., data-driven research. The business case is then circulated and discussed within the team”
“In my experience adding value as a board member has always been key; this means contributing to value creation with a very pragmatic, hands-on approach. Giving strategic counselling to companies’ boards, looking for potential clients and partnerships and contributing to the development of strategic business agreements.”
“Having been on both sides – an approach of “no surprises” helps create a productive work environment. Like any good relationships – the key is communication (proactively), & getting into business with people with the same values”
“We only work with seasoned entrepreneurs who went through the rocky ride themselves and will always adding value during board meetings. These board meetings are always as transparent as possible and is only focusing around strategy”.
“The success rate of the startups that graduate from UBI Global is eye-opening. This is an ever-changing, forward-thinking, disruptive industry”
“We deal with eventual conflicts and/or lack of alignment with the CEO, before we enter the deal. Our approach to deals is made in such way that everyone’s interests are fully aligned, and we use very straight forward and measurable metrics regarding performance. We keep an open channel with all our portfolio, so these issues can be approached in different angles”
“At the end of a day we are startup in effect, so the main focus is the team, and part returns are proof of our ability. The specific “unique” angles and specialisms that we follow at any one time need to adjust to environmental conditions (regulatory, economic, competitive, cyclical..) and the fund’s ability to pivot depends entirely on our ability as a team”.
“For us, we really try to focus on and add value around our core skill set both because founders want and need it and it’s something we know really well. That can happen as a board member (we have seats currently on four boards) but doesn’t necessarily need to – we just need to be able to offer our expertise and ideas and make sure they’re taken seriously. Obviously, transparency and honesty is the key to a healthy relationship between the board and the CEO”.
“I’m a people person and I care about my team and the individual members. That means in good times and in bad times. I’m a strong believer of reciprocity. Give and take. I give individuals and teams a responsibility and trust. If they can handle that I’m easy on people if they can’t perform on their normal level because of circumstances.”
“Financial incentive is ultimately necessary, but not sufficient. The project has to be interesting and challenging to the researchers. They must feel that they are learning on the job, expanding their competence”.
“The best board members “work for the CEO as long as they support the CEO.” If they don’t support her, they should do something (which could mean changing the CEO, or working hard with her to get back to a place of support). For me – that’s the fundamental “trick” to being an effective board member”
“It is crucial to every board that the relationship be clear and transparent and avoid the two extremes we have seen cause problems in startup ventures: being the cheerleader board with not enough oversight like WeWork and Theranos or being the board with an adversarial approach that fires a strong leader like Steve Jobs. The key is maintaining distinct roles, transparent communication and creating an environment where both successes and failures of the business can be discussed.”
“Many board members and VCs do not add value to a startup or founders. Many are just burning money or want 10x returns without the right efforts, dedication and patience. I prefer GPs, investors to be more empathetic and understanding with entrepreneurs”
“A coach should be a player to get in the mentality of its players otherwise the game is lost before it begins. The basic approach should be first being a player to handle the different and diverse strategies they may apply to different trade levels.”
