Rachleff: Great board members enforce intellectual honesty rather than directing management
Andy Rachleff · 20VC: Andy Rachleff, Founder @ Benchmark & Wealthfront on What Makes The Best CEO & Board Member & Why Ivy League Endowments Are The Best Managed Capital In The World · Jun 20, 2016 · at 14:13
Andy Rachleff is co-founder of Benchmark Capital and CEO of Wealthfront. He is describing what makes a effective startup board member from both an investor and founder perspective.
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“A great board member is one who focuses on a 100,000 foot level because they can't possibly know the details of the business. And I think being an outsider, they can hold the mirror up to management to make sure they're being intellectually honest about their product market fit. A board member who tries to tell management what to do seldom succeeds. A board member who asks tough questions to make sure that management is being intellectually honest in their own thinking is a really valuable board member.”
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