CU Boulder: Crash Course: Building Great Boards

For startups, emerging growth companies, and established firms, the challenge of building a great board is often overlooked or under appreciated.   For startup companies, the first question is whether and when to establish an operating board (or an advisory board, for that matter).  For those companies with established boards, the question is how to use them effectively, avoiding any dysfunctional or counterproductive behavior that can sometimes take hold.  In this crash course, we will discuss how a great board is an important opportunity for a company to elicit honest feedback, hold the leadership accountable to key goals, and engage valuable resources in the company’s mission.  It will also evaluate the potential pitfalls of boards, including how to manage investors on a board who have interests that may diverge from the company’s or the founder’s vision, how boards can best manage, mentor, and hire/fire CEOs, and what to look for in recruiting board members and how to use them most effectively.