Check out the extremely detailed guide to help entrepreneurs set up a Board of Directors. Download the PDF version here. GovernanceContentforFinalPDF
It came from the Telecommunications Development Fund, a venture capital firm for companies in the telecommunications industry. (The guide applies to a corporation in any line of business, and not just to telecomm firms.)
This guide is quite practical. It is designed for small businesses that are setting up a Board for the first time. It assumes the entrepreneur has no experience with a Board of Directors, and covers:
1. Why have a Board?
2. How do I “control” my Board?
3. Who should be on my Board?
4. How do I recruit members of the Board?
5. How does the Board operate?
6. How much should I pay directors?
7. Should I have directors’ and officers’ (D & O) insurance?
8. How do I change the composition of the Board as my business grows?
9. Should I have an advisory board?
10. How do I avoid disaster?
It even includes helpful how-to’s such as: criteria for selecting directors, a sample board meeting agenda, and a primer on the basics of taking corporate minutes.
VC firms can seem forbidding to entrepreneurs, and not very mentor-like. Most have not done much to train entrepreneurs, certainly not in any formal way. Could this be an example of a nascent trend by VCs to mentor and educate entrepreneurs?
