Founder Control
19 hours ago
- Historically, founders rarely kept board control after Series A; the typical board had two founders, two VCs, and one independent (or one founder, one VC, one independent).
- Exceptions like Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Mark Pincus (Zynga) show that founder control is possible, and a survey of YC-funded companies found many founders retained a board majority after Series A.
- The author believes this is becoming a new norm, driven by the best startups setting trends and VCs caring more about perception than actual terms.
- Board control matters in practice because it influences discussions and decisions, even if votes are rarely split.
- The shift may be fast because VCs will stop seeing it as a concession, and it may help them choose better founders they can trust.