#136 - Anu Hariharan on Managing a Board

About this episode

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/anuhariharan">Anu Hariharan</a> is a partner at YC. Today’s episode is about her recent post, <a href="https://blog.ycombinator.com/how-to-manage-a-board/">How To Manage a Board</a>.<br><br>You can find her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anuhariharan">@anuhariharan</a>.<br><br>If you’re interested in doing Startup School this year, signups are open at <a href="https://www.startupschool.org/">StartupSchool.org</a>. The course just started and the deadline to sign up is August 4th.&nbsp;Select companies who complete the course will also receive 15,000 dollars in equity-free funding.<br><br>The YC podcast is hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/CraigCannon">Craig Cannon</a>.<br><br>Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.<br><br>Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: <a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/">https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/</a><br><br>***<br><br><b>Topics</b><br><br>00:00 - Intro<br><br>00:57 - Why Anu wrote How to Manage a Board<br><br>2:27 - Board composition<br><br>4:27 - Adding independent board members <br><br>6:27 - The responsibilities of a board member<br><br>9:12 - Productive board meetings<br><br>12:52 - Sharing materials before the meeting<br><br>13:42 - Bringing executives into the meeting<br><br>16:57 - Dealing with board conflict<br><br>18:22 - Following up after a board meeting<br><br>21:12 - Dealing with difficult board members<br><br>23:57 - Reality distortion<br><br>24:52 - Agustin Feuerhake asks - What does it take to be a great board member?<br><br>27:22 - Dave Bailey asks - To what extent should the board culture reflect the company culture? <br><br>29:42 - Connor Abene asks - How do you think about adding board members who haven't worked in your industry but you think are good?<br><br>33:22 - Rhina asks - Could you address managing a board during product market fit time/ pivot times?<br></p>