Key Takeaways:
- A startup board’s real value lies in being a strategic thought partner—challenging the CEO, offering perspective, and driving honest conversations.
- The ideal board is small and balanced: one founder (usually the CEO), one investor per round, and independent directors who fill strategic gaps.
- Great board meetings focus 80% on the future, not the past. Ditch the slide decks, share the board book early, and use meetings for real dialogue.
- Founders should treat board composition as seriously as term sheets. Plan for investor roll-offs and avoid filling seats with name-only “trophy” directors.
As the host of Startup Success, I’ve had countless conversations with founders, and one topic I kept hearing murmurs about—but never real excitement—was boards. Most saw them as a formality, a checkbox for raising capital, or worse, a source of friction. I realized it was time to explore this topic properly.
So I invited two experts who know startup boards from every angle: Matt Blumberg, CEO of Acrolinx and chairman of Bolster, and Mahendra Ramsinghani, Managing Director at Secure Octane Investments. Together with Brad Feld, they co-authored the essential book Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors.
What followed was one of the most useful and myth-busting conversations we’ve had on the show. Below is what I learned about why your board matters, how to build a great one, and how to actually make board meetings productive. Whether you’re just starting your first board or thinking about how to improve your current one, this episode is packed with practical advice straight from the source.
A Board Should Be in Service to the CEO
Mahendra started our conversation with a powerful statement:
“A good board is in service of a great entrepreneur.”
That immediately reframed the dynamic for me. A strong board isn’t there to oversee or babysit. It’s there to support the CEO by helping them grow, stretch their thinking, and challenge their assumptions.
Matt called this role being a strategic thought partner—someone who helps the CEO think through tough decisions, identify blind spots, and see the bigger picture. In his words, a great board member “helps you figure out that you can do things you didn’t think you could do.”
Accountability, Perspective, and Honesty
The best board members also bring:
- Accountability: Board commitments give CEOs leverage to push their teams. “Because the board expects it by March 31” carries more weight than “because I said so.”
- Pattern Recognition: Board members often see dozens of startups. They can help you determine what’s worth worrying about and what’s normal noise.
- Intellectual Honesty: Founders often “sell” their own narrative, even to themselves. Great board members challenge that story and bring you back to reality when needed.
Matt even noted that on his current board, some members refer to themselves as “sparring partners.” It’s not always comfortable, but it’s effective.
How to Build the Right Board
Understand the Three Types of Directors
Matt broke board composition into three groups:
- Management – usually just the CEO
- Investors – those who negotiate a seat during financing rounds
- Independents – chosen to bring in outside expertise
He was clear on one point: only the CEO should represent management on the board. Co-founders should not automatically get board seats. They can be observers or advisors, but the board’s job is to challenge the CEO and guide the company—not serve as a co-founder recognition committee.
Be Proactive with Investors
Founders often treat board negotiations as an afterthought during fundraising. That’s a mistake.
As Mahendra put it, “Pick the people first. The money is secondary.” He said the most disappointing thing as an investor is when a founder never asks, How can you serve me? Founders should talk with investors up front about what kind of support they’ll bring, and how long they’ll stay on the board.
Matt agreed, saying that in an ideal scenario, founders negotiate investor roll-off terms early, especially as new funding rounds add new directors. Don’t let your Series D board end up bloated with four VCs just because no one planned ahead.
Use the “Rule of Ones” to Structure Your Board
Matt introduced a simple but powerful framework he calls the Rule of Ones:
- One founder per board (the CEO)
- One investor per round (ideally rotating out older ones)
- One independent for every investor (starting on day one)
Early on, this means a three-person board: CEO, lead investor, and one independent. Later, a five- or seven-member board can maintain that same balance.
Choose Independents to Fill Strategic Gaps
Too often, founders chase celebrity board members. Matt was blunt: “You’re at $20K MRR. You don’t need a public company CEO on your board.”
Instead, think of your board as a jigsaw puzzle. What voice is missing? Is it customer insight? Product expertise? Go-to-market strategy? Choose independents who can fill those gaps—people who can give you relevant guidance for the next 12 to 24 months.
Also, don’t lock in independents with four-year terms. In early-stage companies, two-year terms are enough to make an impact and adjust as your needs evolve.
How to Run an Effective Board Meeting
Don’t Treat the Board Meeting as a Burden
I’ve heard so many founders describe board meetings as a weeklong scramble. According to Matt, that’s a red flag. “If it takes your whole team a week to prep, you’re doing it wrong,” he said.
His advice: use content you already need. The same data and insights you use for quarterly planning or exec offsites can form the core of your board book. Produce content once, use it multiple times.
Prep Matters: The Board Book
Here are Matt’s guidelines for an effective board book:
- Make it short and easy to read – avoid acronyms, jargon, and dense slides.
- Focus on what matters – highlight the key issues where you want input.
- Send it early – at least the Friday before a Tuesday–Thursday meeting.
- Use a collaborative platform – Matt likes Zeck, which allows real-time comments and pre-meeting discussion. He had 75 comment threads open before his last meeting.
Mahendra echoed many of Matt’s points and added his own perspective as an investor. For him, the most effective board meetings are those that strike a balance between reflection and forward planning. He emphasized the power of transparency and open communication, citing the example of Duo Security, where every employee—regardless of level—was encouraged to read the board book as part of onboarding. This level of openness, he said, created a culture of trust, clarity, and shared ownership. Mahendra also pointed out that intellectual honesty and positive intent are essential to productive board conversations. “Conduct yourself like an A-class team,” he said. That means sharing the good and the bad with equal candor and viewing the board not as an audience to impress, but as a resource to help solve problems. Smart people thrive on information—trust them with it.
Three Practical Board Meeting Tips:
1. During the Meeting: Look Ahead, Not Back
Matt shared a ratio that I now think every founder should adopt:
- 80% of the board book = looking backward
- 80% of the board meeting = looking forward
Skip the executive-by-executive victory lap. Instead, spend your meeting on strategic conversations. Where do you need help? What’s keeping you up at night?
2. Group the Board Together
When meeting in person, seat board members at one end of the table to encourage natural dialogue. In Zoom meetings, have non-board attendees turn off video and hide their squares so board members can focus.
3. No Slides
This tip caught me off guard, but it made total sense. Slides on the screen draw attention away from the conversation. If something must be shown, show it briefly, then return to face-to-face discussion. “I abolished slides in the board room,” Matt told me, “and I was never happier.”
Final Takeaway: Your Board Is What You Make It
This conversation reframes how founders should think about their boards. A board doesn’t have to be a burden. With the right structure, people, and mindset, it can be one of the most valuable assets a founder has.
If you’re building your board or rethinking how to get more value from it, Startup Boards by Matt, Mahendra, and Brad is a must-read. And if you want help preparing for investor meetings, strategic planning, or board reporting, Burkland’s fractional CFO and finance teams are here to help.
Your board should challenge you, support you, and grow with you. Build it wisely, and it will be one of your greatest strategic advantages.