recently rated:

Rated by 43

2.6 2.6 2.6 2.9 2.4

2.6

General Catalyst

 

$$$$$ Cambridge, US East

top rated funds:

Rated by 39

3.4 3.4 2.9 3.4 3.5

3.3

Polaris Venture Partners

 

$$$$$ Waltham, US East

Rated by 16

3.8 3.1 2.9 3.0 3.5

3.3

Azure Capital Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 10

3.2 3.2 3.2 3.5 3.4

3.3

Adams Capital Management, Inc.

 

$$$$$ Sewickley, US East

Rated by 10

3.6 3.4 3.2 3.0 3.2

3.3

Noro-Moseley Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Atlanta, US East

Rated by 23

3.3 3.4 3.0 3.4 3.3

3.3

Allegis Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 14

3.0 3.4 3.4 3.1 3.4

3.3

OpenView Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Boston, US East

Rated by 38

4.2 3.3 2.9 2.9 3.1

3.3

Greylock Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Mateo, US West

Rated by 39

3.6 3.4 3.3 3.1 3.3

3.3

Foundation Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 34

3.4 3.5 3.2 3.2 3.4

3.3

InterWest Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 14

3.6 3.5 3.5 2.8 3.4

3.3

Meritage Funds

Certified

$$$$$ Denver, US West

Rated by 47

3.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.2

3.2

Mayfield Fund

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 27

3.4 3.4 3.3 2.7 3.2

3.2

Union Square Ventures

 

$$$$$ New York, US East

Rated by 39

3.0 3.5 3.3 3.0 3.4

3.2

Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 10

2.6 3.4 3.6 3.2 2.9

3.2

Palomar Ventures

 

$$$$$ Santa Monica, US West

Rated by 40

2.8 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.4

3.2

Shasta Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 31

3.1 3.1 2.9 3.2 3.4

3.2

BlueRun Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 33

2.9 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.2

3.2

Opus Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 15

3.2 2.7 3.9 3.3 3.1

3.2

Kepha Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Waltham, US East

Rated by 10

3.6 3.5 3.2 2.2 3.5

3.2

Sequoia Capital Israel

 

$$$$$ Oceanos Hotel, ..., ME / Africa

Rated by 23

3.4 3.4 3.3 2.6 3.2

3.2

Emergence Capital Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Mateo, US West

Rated by 15

3.5 3.4 3.6 3.0 2.4

3.2

Balderton (Benchmark EU)

Certified

$$$$$ London, Europe

Rated by 50

3.5 2.7 3.1 3.2 2.9

3.1

Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 14

3.4 3.2 3.5 2.8 2.4

3.1

Trident Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 43

3.8 3.1 2.8 3.2 2.7

3.1

Accel Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 26

3.3 3.1 2.9 3.2 3.0

3.1

Sigma Partners

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 20

3.4 2.8 3.1 3.3 2.9

3.1

Sutter Hill Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 37

3.3 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.1

3.1

Charles River Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 12

3.1 3.1 3.5 2.6 2.8

3.0

SoftTech VC

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 13

3.3 2.9 3.7 2.1 2.8

3.0

New York Angels

Certified

$$$$$ New York, US East

Rated by 26

3.1 2.9 3.0 2.9 3.0

3.0

Madrona Venture Group

Certified

$$$$$ Seattle, US West

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There are a lot of postings here about getting the initial term sheet and getting the VC on board. However, just like marriages, many of these courting periods can be quite different from the month to month evolving operations and business that we face a year or two down the road. Remember that often these VCs will sit on your board, and direct your business in different ways and depending on your dilution can dictate how operational decisions should be made. Thus, it is important to get an early feel from your VC dialogue, especially how they would respond if the actual business is less than the wonderful picture we sometimes paint in our pitches.

Even with the best of intentions, it is possible and even probable that the world does not quite turn out the way that we have carefully planned. Having VCs with real operational experience could actually prove to be useful in this setting. However, having attorneys or other less experienced associates on the board can be disastrous as they can and will send the management team on useless exercises to appease their ignorance and waste valuable time and resources that could be focused on the real business issues.

It is also important to set realistic expectations on how a business will evolve as this can determine the tone of the ongoing dialogue. I was involved with a CEO who promised rosy but unlikely-to-happen scenarios and thus the board was often in an antagonistic and negative stance with the whole management team.

While we all need to be as careful and realistic as possible with the expectations that we set, we also need to be careful about the kind of people we let on our boards as this can become a regular drag and distraction that we do not need when we are building a business.

You should always be in control of your own board. There is a simple way to do this, stack your board with people that are beyond reproach that are in your corner. Yes, you need to be well connected to pull this off but if do, you could end up with at least an even say on the board. Most entrepreneurs get board members from referrals, I say, get your friends! Don't get 100 board members, just a few that no one can tell you to get rid of...After-all you just gave them free stock...so they'll probably back you at least for the first year. However, don't get rubber stamp people that won't do anything. Make sure to get people that actually will be active.

So, I have wavered between "War and Peace" and the one page agenda for Board meetings. I stand somewhere in the middle. In my humble opinion, less is more, and here is what I recommend: (1) Agenda Page, (2) Minutes, (3) Dashboard, (4) Budget vs Actual, and (5) Business Discussion Points. Throw a cap table and financial back-up in a couple appendices (and make sure to update your cumulative dividends). Members, read on...

Prior to accepting capitla from any fund that will require board representation, one should be sure to spend some time doing background checks on the new boardmember(s). Find out what industry they came from (finance, technology, consulting etc.), check out the quality of their other portfolio investments, and be sure to interview CEO's of those portfolio companies to find out how the investor has contributed (or not) to the BOD. Chances are that you will be stuck with your boardmembers for some time, and it's good to know who you are getting into bed with prior to making any decisions.