Myth #1: Directors don’t add value
As the founder, the innovator, the leader of your startup, you are indeed the visionary that’s driving the direction of your company, but there’s so much to be gained from having people around you who are not only aligned with your vision, but who can also support you to navigate around corners that you might not even know are coming up. That’s what the right experience can bring: awareness, insight and assistance, even when you’re charting a new course that’s never been done before.
I often find that in the startup world we like to think that we’re always doing things for the first time, and we are, just not typically in how a business is run*. If you’re a founder who has never run a business or been at the top of one, this can feel new and like an additional hill to climb on top of the main goal of searching for product-market fit. Instead of feeling the weight of thinking you need to self-learn and prototype everything from scratch, like how you might put together a forecast, or manage a cross-functional team, it can help to stick to prototyping just the things that we don’t collectively know - like your product value proposition and all that that entails - and find the people who do already know how to do the things that you don’t. This approach doesn’t have to stifle your innovative culture but instead can bring efficiencies where possible, helping you to focus on what you’re trying to innovate at full velocity.
This is where an amazing director can come in - they’ve done the prototyping, they’ve lived through the tech crashes, they’ve managed ‘unprecedented’ events before, and they can be your sanctuary when you and your vision needs support through rough, and even wildly successful, seas. The best ones will know that hubris can be a company’s downfall, or that the thing that you think will never happen might just be the thing that is about to happen. They also know that if you think you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re probably in the wrong room. Imagine having a group of people around you that passionately believe in your vision, can offer you wise counsel based on deep experience, and support you to be all that you can be? Yes please.
If you know Adam Milgrom from Giant Leap, you’ll know that he is definitely one of these people, and we’re so grateful he is on our Startup Board Course’s Advisory Board. On this he shares:
Adam Milgrom, Partner at Giant Leap
“In its best guise, a board can give you access to people who are truly helpful, and who you wouldn't otherwise be able to afford, or who you wouldn't otherwise be able to get their time and insight. The best board members see a lot, so they can take things that they’ve learnt and are continually learning, being still active in the ecosystem, and use this to shortcut a founder’s and a company’s learning. They can act in support of and with the confidence of a founding team, and help them as a sounding board on their strategy and ideas, before they unveil these to the outside world. For an early stage startup, this is really valuable and the primary aspect of a director’s function, to support the team strategically.
While good governance and board hygiene are also essential, a director’s time and focus at this early-stage should be weighted to how they can support the founding team and the company towards their vision.”
We talk about all of this and more in our Startup Board Course - find out more here.
Ends.
*But, how business is run in general needs to change so business can return to its roots and be a force for good for society - changing collective business norms just moves much more slowly than a typical startup going from concept to scaling and beyond!
