Vivek Mandava @vmandava - Twitter Profile

Vivek Mandava @vmandava

23 days ago

@prashgarapati @warpsciences Congratulations 🎊 👏

1

2

0

122

vmandava retweeted

Brian Halligan

@bhalligan

almost 3 years ago

The SVB, FTX, and OpenAI debacles have proven that boards are underrated. Here are some things I’ve learned about building boards from @HubSpot that I hope might help other founders. 1. VC’s “can be” excellent board members. Yes, they are self-interested, but their interests very likely align with the founders’ interests. They are on several other boards so have legit experience in the job. …Btw, if @JoshuaKushner and @VKhosla were on OpenAI’s board, I can’t imagine @Sama getting fired like that. 2. HubSpot’s Series A and B investors had board seats. Both of them were both former CEO’s and their mentorship of me as a first time CEO was exceptionally helpful. …Try to find vc’s who have been operators, if you can. 3. Good independent board members are worth their weight in gold. Gail Goodman was our first. She taught us a lot about scaling a business in those board meetings. She also would tamper the vc’s in the board meetings if they got too aggressive with me. 4. Don’t hire “press release independent board members.” Don’t hire former politicians, former secretaries of _____, movie stars, or athletes. …Elizabeth Holmes fell into this tempting trap. 5. Avoid hiring independents who have only worked at XYZ giant company — they won’t understand the mountain you are trying to climb after spending their whole career on top of that mountain. 6. Given what we’ve all seen with OpenAI, it’s obvious, but you want independent board members with experience. I might be wrong, but if Reid Hoffman were still on their board, I can’t imagine it would have shaken out this way. Sometimes a lack of experience can be overcome with raw brains and first principled thinking in a senior hire, but not when hiring an independent board member. 7. Build a good board and don’t worry about “retaining control.” They “should” have the right to fire you. That accountability is healthy for you and your company. Trust me, the last thing “an experienced” set of board members wants to do is fire the ceo/founder and if they do, it will be after lots of feedback over a long period of time. …If they fire you, in a very very high percentage of cases, it was probably the right thing for your company. 8. Board members should act like grandparents, not parents. If they act like parents, they are too involved. 9. Every year, you should run an anonymous 360 review of each board member (including yourself). That feedback should be delivered by you and your expectation should be that they work on the feedback they got, even the vc’s. Feedback is the breakfast of champions. 10. As the ceo/chairperson of your board, you “can” replace a board member. We had one of our vc board members replaced by a different partner from that same fund who was a better fit. Be careful when doing this, though. 11. You should replace independents when your company outgrows them. They should see it coming through the 360 reviews. Sam Bankman Fried and Elizabeth Holmes would have likely been fired if they had a proper board, but wouldn’t be in prison. Sam Altman would have avoided this major headache if he had a proper board. Sent from my iPhone

60

1K

181

764

443K

vmandava retweeted

SF

@simonfrans

almost 6 years ago

@yaneerbaryam Liked it. Wrapped up:

14

973

433

123

0

vmandava retweeted

Adam Grant

@AdamMGrant

over 8 years ago

When a choice is inconsequential and reversible, be decisive: the early bird gets the worm. But when the stakes are high and the decision is difficult to undo, take your time: the tortoise beats the hare. https://t.co/Egu5ahJ6ci

AdamMGrant's tweet photo. When a choice is inconsequential and reversible, be decisive: the early bird gets the worm. But when the stakes are high and the decision is difficult to undo, take your time: the tortoise beats the hare.
https://t.co/Egu5ahJ6ci https://t.co/bmD1OEW94c

41

3K

1K

468

0

Who to follow

Heywood Foundation

@HeywoodFndation

In memory of Jeremy Heywood, we support charitable causes close to his heart: the promotion of diversity & innovation in the civil service and UK public service

Meta SuperIntelligence Labs

Vivek Mandava @vmandava

over 6 years ago

@DilliDurAst Really surprised to see no one even mention whose brain child it was. The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao. https://t.co/eJltDgnxzc

0

vmandava retweeted

Simon Wardley @swardley

almost 8 years ago

X :A simple explanation of pioneer, settler and town planner? Me : Structure by attitude [A], have groups of aptitude across [B], use cells [C], implement a system of theft [D] to drive the pioneers forward [E] ... most importantly, learn when you can use it, sort doctrine first.

swardley's tweet photo. X :A simple explanation of pioneer, settler and town planner?
Me : Structure by attitude [A], have groups of aptitude across [B], use cells [C], implement a system of theft [D] to drive the pioneers forward [E] ... most importantly, learn when you can use it, sort doctrine first. https://t.co/McNPzKC836

1

42

16

7

0

vmandava retweeted

Daniel Bryant @danielbryantuk

almost 8 years ago

A fantastic summary of the equally fantastic @QConSF keynote from @Grady_Booch by Michael Stiefel on @InfoQ -> "Grady Booch on the Future of AI" https://t.co/ose903dYRr

danielbryantuk's tweet photo. A fantastic summary of the equally fantastic @QConSF keynote from @Grady_Booch by Michael Stiefel on @InfoQ -> "Grady Booch on the Future of AI" https://t.co/ose903dYRr https://t.co/5hHdZimGaT

0

52

26

6

0

vmandava retweeted

MIT Sloan Management Review

@mitsmr

almost 8 years ago

To be effective, your goals should be: 1. discussed Frequently 2. Ambitious in scope 3. measured by Specific metrics and milestones 4. Transparent within your organization In short, make sure they're FAST, not SMART → https://t.co/BGL2cIShn1 @simple_rules #Management