Board members

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December 22, 2025

by an member in Corona, CA, USA

When dealing with banks, how many board members do they like to see on the board?
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12
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12
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Reply by an investor
from Wesleyan University in Dedham, MA, USA
^redacted‌ I realize that it might feel like you don’t have a lot of control in building your board, particularly if your cap table is filled with a bank and/or institutional investors. But you have more power than you think. At the end of the day, you control what deal to do, who you take as investors in that deal, and how to pitch to all investors the best way for everyone to succeed. And the big investors are dying because they have too many investments and not enough board representatives. So, if you are incredibly thoughtful about your approach to board composition everyone involved will respect you. Here are some considerations. The smaller the better. The best board I have been on recently had three members. Focus on quality over quantity. The more board members, the more complexity, and the more chance there is for free riders. You want everyone deeply engaged. You might not be able to get away with three, but shoot for 4, and don’t go higher than 5 outside board members. Everyone on your board should have a key skill to bring to bear. It could be industry, geography, HR, finance, sales. But a bunch of generalists will help you the least. The more specific each board member’s role the more they will be able to help you and better they will work together. Every board should have an alpha dog, the chairman even if not in name. You need to know the one person you have to convince to get something done. Everyone on your board must be deeply committed to your success and have the bandwidth to spend on your company. The more board meetings in person the better, and the more they get to know your team and your company the better. You need to like every member of your board personally. This will matter when things get tough. Fighting is okay. But a baseline of trust and admiration is required. They have to all be committed to your development as a CEO.
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Reply by a searcher
from Polytechnic Ibadan in Lagos, Nigeria
The work of building your team is a very important work and be wary that they are the ones who will show how well you have evolved and that is very important for business management which the banks wants to see because owning the business does not confer on you the ability to manage the business properly
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