Board Member

Definition

A shareholder or investor who has a formal seat on your board, allowing them to help make decisions and take credit when things go well, blame founders when they don't.

Example Usage

Our two board members from the Series A are increasingly hands-on, which is sometimes helpful and sometimes micromanaging.

Origin

Corporate governance terminology

Fun Fact

Ideal board members are 'helpful hands' who mentor without meddling; this unicorn-like creature is rarer than actual unicorns

Source: Corporate governance and startup operations terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

SAFE

Simple Agreement for Future Equity—a Y Combinator innovation that lets startups take money now and figure out the valuation later. 'Simple' is debatable; some lawyers call them 'complex convertible debt without the debt.'

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

vulture capital

Investors who prey on distressed startups, offering unfavorable terms when founders are desperate. They prefer the smell of burning runway in the morning.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

capitalist

A person who owns money and loves owning more money, preferably through means that maximize wealth accumulation. The ideological cheerleader for markets and minimal regulation.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

follow-on investment

Additional money invested in a portfolio company after the initial round—either because things are going great and you want more ownership, or things are terrible and you're protecting your original investment. Hope and desperation look surprisingly similar.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

Proof of Concept (PoC)

A small-scale demonstration that your idea actually works before you burn through millions scaling something that doesn't.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

non-participating preferred

Preferred stock that must choose between taking its liquidation preference OR converting to common and sharing the remaining proceeds—can't do both. The slightly-less-greedy version of investor terms.

🚀 Startup / VC

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sydlm

Shut your dirty little mouth...