The Case for Better Governance at Venture-Backed Companies

The corporate governance of VC-backed companies requires more sunlight and better understanding.

On June 20th, Scott Lenet (the founder and president of Touchdown Ventures) published a story on Forbes titled “Venture Capital Needs Desperately More Governance.” The gist of the article is that VC and Silicon Valley still operates in a sort of Wild West “where rule-breaking is a foundational principle.” Specifically, he calls for more training and education for directors of venture-backed companies, since “board service [in venture-backed companies] is yet another arena where there is no formal training” noting that “in any industry where individuals serve as professional fiduciaries, there are typically degree programs, mandated training, certification, continuing education, and oversight.”

I couldn’t agree more with this observation. In fact, during my tenure as the Executive Director of the Stanford Rock Center, we launched a program called Directors’ College for Venture Backed Company Directors (VCDC) in 2014 based precisely on this premise. It was modeled after Directors’ College