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Building VC Boards: 3 questions to Patrick Polak (Newion)
How to Build an Effective VC Board? How to handle shareholder and Advisory Board Member Interests? Shareholders strive for value creation while directors must assist management in achieving set goals. Patrick Polak (Newion), speaker at the training, discusses the challenges you may encounter in the dual role of a VC Board Member and why you should attend the 'Building VC Boards' training, asking three questions.
Who is the Building VC Boards training for?
Patrick: "The training is intended for young professionals who will be serving on behalf of a VC or who are currently filling their first Board seat. This NVP training sheds light on the different hats you wear—as a board member, as a representative of the fund that invested in the company, and as an employee of the fund. NVP members always deal with these different roles and need to learn how to separate them."
The training addresses challenges within startups and scale-ups. You learn what you can do, in which role, and what to consider. Can you give an example of such a challenge?
Patrick: "The development from startups to scale-ups is always highly dynamic and never straightforward: the various stages of a company require continuous changes in the management team, different funding rounds, international expansions, and thus dynamics between shareholders, management members, and potentially among board members. Strategic discussions also arise regarding exits, acquisitions, and expansions. A board member in a scale-up must navigate between continuity and the shareholders' desire for hyper growth."
What makes this training unique?
Patrick: "The training is unique because it specifically highlights the roles of being a board member and working for and with the shareholder: the role of a commissioner, the role of a shareholder, and also the dynamics of the fund you work for. And not just for you, but also knowing that this applies to a syndicate partner. This is precisely the difference between an independent board member and a board member of a VC."
