This sounds right in term of what to look for. But what are the mechanics of the search?
It seems like something really personal for the company--and yet founders are often not likely to have great independent board candidates that they have long histories with.
Investors are much more likely to know great independent board candidates--so how do you structure a search so it yields the independents are 1) as good as you need them to be and 2) not actually just more investor seats on the board?
Unless you're already accomplished with a previous track record, you're probably going to be looking for advisers before investors, so usually as a founder you've already asked tons of people for advice. Or you should have, anyway. :) When talking to such people, you have to keep in mind that you'll want to recruit people for a board one day. It's really a socializing and networking thing.
It seems like something really personal for the company--and yet founders are often not likely to have great independent board candidates that they have long histories with.
Investors are much more likely to know great independent board candidates--so how do you structure a search so it yields the independents are 1) as good as you need them to be and 2) not actually just more investor seats on the board?