The 6 Startup Board Member Personas

Several personality types present themselves during board meetings. I have classified them into six categories. I have been all of them, depending on the time and experience.

Ball-Buster: The one who finds mistakes in your financial model and purposefully looks at old board decks to see where you fell short of calling on it. They can do this directly or, even worse, passive-aggressively.

The Try Hard: The ones waiting for their turn to speak try to “add value.” They feel super dumb, so they try to overcompensate in the board meeting.

Coach: Constructively gives feedback to get the management team to develop the answers by themselves and not as a directive.

Cheerleader: Gives non-stop accolades and high fives.

The Has Been: The former operator pushed their opinion based on the data set they had as an operator. More often than not, this is from a 1x experience.

The Boss: The board member that thinks before they speak. The one that chooses their words to be effective and not right. The board member with practical experience can lend that can be taken or left.

Which personalities resonate with you? Are there any I am leaving out?