VCs on startup boards: what do they even do?

Indian startup boards have been repeatedly caught sleeping on the job in the face of irregularities, weak processes and unethical practices. A number of factors—ranging from emotion to self-interest—are to blame.

What exactly is the role of the board of directors in a private, venture capital-funded company? And, why is it that every time there is a screw-up in the Indian startup ecosystem—as with Paytm, Zilingo, GoMechanic, Byju’s, BharatPe, Trell, Housing.com, Dunzo, Mojocare or even Flipkart—the board comes across like a deer caught in the headlights, a question mark hanging over its accountability?

Should it have acted sooner? When it did, was it enough? And, when it didn’t, was it because it’s just not possible for venture capital investors to be up-to-date with the workings of each of their portfolio companies? …

Author

Harveen Ahluwalia

Harveen is a co-founder at The Morning Context, and leads our Internet coverage. She has previously worked as a media, consumer and tech reporter at The Ken and Mint. At The Morning Context, she writes on startups, venture capital, consumer and media businesses across India and the Middle East—from e-commerce to healthtech to streaming.

Editor, Internet

harveen@mailtmc.com

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