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Building Your Board
Video

Building Your Board

Y Combinator, 2017

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Overview

Recommendation

A board of directors can serve a much more important function than merely approving a company’s budgets or rubber-stamping a CEO’s agenda. In fact, a board, if well-managed, can serve as an invaluable source of expertise and advice. In an entertaining, informative presentation, Glenn Kelman, the charismatic CEO of real estate brokerage Redfin, shares his personal experiences of building a board. Although he casually name-drops and uses occasional salty language, and his examples are anecdotal and specific to Redfin, his advice is universally applicable. getAbstract recommends this video to start-up founders who strive to assemble strong boards.

Summary

The CEO of a fledgling company must select a board of directors wisely. Board members’ skills and expertise can serve as an invaluable resource to your company, so don’t simply extend board membership to the first investor to offer you capital or to a big-name firm. Choose board members who share a passion for your business and with whom you can have an amicable professional relationship, because board members are difficult to fire, though they can easily fire you. When assembling your board, keep the following points in mind:

  • Shop for expertise – Include board members...

About the Speaker

Glenn Kelman is the CEO of Redfin, a web-based residential real estate company.