Virtual Chairman

Advisory

Aug 122008

One of the most important contributions that I make is possible because of the experience I have gained over several decades of starting companies and helping founders grow theirs. I can keep a team from squandering resources inappropriately or neglecting opportunities that are crucial to the company’s growth. I can provide a road map which keeps the horse before the cart, all of the axles well greased and the entire rig firmly on the right path.

In a fundamental way I act as a company’s virtual chairman. I am active in the business but don’t play any day-to-day operating role. I am involved in all planning and major decision making.

It is a rare group of founders who willingly subject themselves, their business plan and their vision to aggressive oversight. Sooner or later it does occur. For some teams their first experience with critical review is during the heat of a presentation to a funding source. Others get their first experience with aggressive feedback from clients – clients who do not reflexively accept the founders’ rosy evaluation of their value proposition.

One of my criteria for selecting start-ups to work with is whether or not the founders are prepared to subject themselves to this kind of review well before they are presenting to venture capitalists or providing products or services to actual clients. In my role as Virtual Chairman, I routinely put together red-teams to review presentations and value propositions before they are deployed. The improvement realized as a result of these reviews is very substantial and often a major discriminator between the company and its competition.

That oversight is not only allowed but sought out by the founders is a major plus in the eyes of investors and potential clients. As a result, the right chairman and board members can both add to a company’s valuation and give it a significant edge over its competition.

When I advise a start-up the business for me is the founders. The company is an expression of their collective vision.

Later on the function of the Board of Directors will become the protection and increase of shareholder value. In later stages of corporate growth this fiduciary obligation with the shareholders affects the relationship between the board and the management team. But during the start-up phase, when the shareholders and the founding team are essentially identical, the board can act as a resource for the company and help the team work through very difficult challenges. In this role, the affiliations of the Chairman and the board members are important.

For instance, I provide financing and organizes exit strategies for start-up and middle market companies with an interest in an exit strategy that involves acquisition by a strategic buyer. Recent work has focused on a wide range of issues including development of business and turn-around plans, strategic planning, team development and augmentation, merger and acquisition strategies, and leadership and management style. The company also provides executive coaching.

Through my network of strategic partnerships and associations, I have brought together tailor-made teams to advise clients on a wide range of complex issues.

Additionally I have founded six companies of my own. As a result of these experiences and connections, I can bring substantial value to a start-up team – as a Virtual Chairman.

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