Startup Boards: Getting the Most Out of Your Board of Directors -- Copyright -- Content -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Part One: Overview -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Why Does a Startup Need a Board? -- The Board Is an Extension of Your Team -- Who This Book Is For -- Magic Words, Phrases, and Abbreviations -- Chapter 2: What is a Board? -- Value Creation, Accountability, and Transparency -- Legal Duties of a Board Member -- Chair or Lead Director -- The Role of Board Committees -- Other Functions of a Board -- Part Two: Building Your Board -- Chapter 3: Creating Your Board -- The Board's Technical Priorities: Economics and Control -- The Board's Emotional Priorities: Trust, Judgment, and Transparency -- Composition of the Board -- Identifying Great Board Members -- The VC Firm Matters as Much as the Person -- Independent Board Members -- The Role of an Executive Chairman -- Board Observers -- Your Lawyer -- Should Gender Diversity Matter? -- Being Rich and King -- Chapter 4: Recruiting Board Members -- The Value of Good Board Members -- Helping You Think Big or Killing Your Company -- Characteristics and Skills of a Board Member -- Recruiting Board Members -- Checking References -- Preparing for an Expansion-Stage Board -- Chapter 5: The Formal Structure of the Board -- Certificate of Incorporation -- The Impact of a Financing on the Certificate of Incorporation -- Why VCs Want Board Seats -- Chapter 6: Aligning Your Board -- Motivation and Communication -- Compensation -- Orienting Your New Board Members -- Lessons from Experience -- Chapter 7: Is an Advisory Board Useful? -- Should You Have an Advisory Board? -- Attributes of a Useful Advisory Board Member -- Selecting Advisory Board Members -- Challenges of Advisory Boards -- Part Three: The Business of the Board Meeting -- Chapter 8: The Actual Board Meeting.

Creating an Annual Calendar -- The Meeting Agenda -- Focus on Critical Items -- Sending Out the Board Package -- Meeting Length -- A Board Call Instead of a Meeting -- Remote Attendees -- Meeting Hygiene -- Managing Interpersonal Dynamics -- Including Your Team in the Board Meeting -- The Executive Session -- After the Meeting -- Chapter 9: Motions and Votes -- Robert's Rules of Order -- The Agenda -- Have Your Lawyer at the Meeting -- The Mechanics of Voting on Motions -- What If You Do Not Agree to a Motion? -- Dealing with Formal Items -- Minutes -- Unanimous Written Consent -- Chapter 10: Legal Challenges -- When the Going Gets Tough -- Minimizing Legal Challenges -- Pragmatic or Idealistic? -- Part Four: Communications -- Chapter 11: Managing Ongoing Expectations -- What the Board Expects from a CEO -- Communicate Both Good News and Bad News -- Things CEOs Can Do to Get in Trouble with Their Board -- What CEOs Should Expect from the Board -- Using Your Board's Social Capital -- Board Member as Psychologist -- Chapter 12: Trying New Things -- Continuous Information -- Learning by Doing: Serving on Other Boards -- Chapter 13: Communication Conflicts -- Emotion versus Logic -- Reciprocation -- Groupthink -- Your VC Firm Invested in a Competitor -- What Happens If Your Board Member Ends Up on the Board of Your Competition? -- Walking Dead VC Partner -- Walking Dead VC Firms -- Interpersonal Conflict Between Board Members and Management -- It All Comes Down to Trust -- Chapter 14: CEO Transitions -- Situations That Lead to a CEO Change -- Scale Up with Growth, or You Will Get Scaled Out -- Why Boards Fire CEOs -- Planning for Healthy Transitions -- Board Transitions -- Getting Rid of the Entire Board -- Part Five: Transactions -- Chapter 15: Financings -- New Investor-Led Round -- Inside-Led Round -- The Down Round and a Rights Offering.

How Involved Should VCs Be in Financings? -- Chapter 16: Selling a Company -- Confidentiality -- Fiduciary Responsibility -- Your Lawyer's Role -- Acquihire -- Carve-outs and 280G -- Shareholder Representative -- Chapter 17: Going Public -- Process -- Committees -- Confidentiality -- Insider Status -- VCs on Public-Company Boards -- Chapter 18: Going Out of Business -- The Zone of Insolvency -- Responsibility to Creditors -- Responsibility to Shareholders -- Liability -- Chapter 11 -- Chapter 7 -- Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors -- Chapter 19: Conclusion -- Appendix -- Checklist 1: Preparing Your Board Package -- Checklist 2: Conducting Your Board's Annual Assessment -- Lead Director -- Board Members -- Checklist 3: Question for Your Legal Counsel -- Checklist 4: Should You Get Directors and Officers Insurance? -- Checklist 5: Stock Option Grants and 409A Valuation -- Notes -- Interviews -- Bibliography -- About the Authors -- Index -- Excerpt from Startup CEO -- Chapter 3: Telling the Story to Your Investors -- The Business Plan Is Dead-Long Live the Business Plan -- The Investor Presentation -- The Elevator Pitch -- The Size of the Opportunity -- Your Competitive Advantage -- Current Status and Road Map from Today -- The Strength of Your Team -- Summary Financials -- Investor Presentations for Larger Startups.