Training to boost startup board performance

Startup boards often operate in uncertainty, requiring a diverse team of experienced directors from varied backgrounds able to navigate often complex challenges.

Those directors can be hard to find, particularly when it comes to addressing the need for diversity. 

Research shows that women hold 19 percent of startup board seats in New Zealand, while more than half of Kiwi startups don’t have any females on their boards. Of the female directors, 43 percent are independent directors.

A lack of training options for people wanting to embark on a startup governance journey exacerbates the issue.

That is something OnBoard seeks to change. 

OnBoard’s mission is to bring fresh expertise and diversity to startup boards, while building a pipeline of independent directors for tomorrow. 

It does so through its one-year accelerator program in which high performers from the tech sector are prepared for startup governance through quarterly training modules on governance fundamentals and a startup board observer role.

The organisation’s latest cohort features several of New Zealand’s high-growth startups, including Cogo, Zincovery, Tracksuit, and Sharesies. 

Eighty percent of this year’s observers come from underrepresented groups in the tech sector, and 73 percent of alumni have gone on to secure governance roles at the conclusion of the program.

Kat Hempstalk, director of Data and AI at Auror, was attracted to the program because she felt the structured learning sessions paired with the observer role would provide the opportunity to put theory into practice immediately. 

“It feels like a power-up when compared to simply learning through experience,” she says. 

Hempstalk has been placed as a board observer with AI startup Montoux. She hopes the experience she gains through OnBoard will demonstrate the value of having someone with a technical background as an independent director, as well as equip her with the governance skills to be an effective contributor outside of her core expertise.

Another participant, Naomi Garry, head of Data and Analytics at Sharesies, has been placed with Tracksuit. 

“Straight off the bat Connor and Matt from Tracksuit welcomed me in, demystified their board room, and worked with me to understand where I can add value.” 

Hearing local and global perspectives from their board members who have scaled up companies before on the global stage has been eye-opening, Garry says. She hopes to use the Onboard program to find out if a governance career is right for her.

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The numbers

The board observer program is only one part of OnBoard’s services. In an effort to understand the state of New Zealand’s startup governance, it also runs several ecosystem-wide benchmarking studies.

This week, OnBoard released its newest project, surveying directors to gain accessible benchmark insights on startup directors’ remuneration per funding stage.

OnBoard director and Movac investment manager, Cassie McAdams says: “Public companies have extensive reporting requirements, and along with more established private companies, there are well-bedded down practices and expectations on what effective governance is. The same level of visibility is lacking for young, high-growth companies.” 

Last year, OnBoard’s first deep-dive into the nation’s tech startup boards, ‘The State of Startup Governance in New Zealand’, showed there is huge variance in how positively ‒ or not ‒ boards were impacting local startups.

OnBoard director and Snowball Effect director, Sophie McLernon says the report highlighted the need for fit-for-stage governance. 

“A blend of individuals around the table who bring a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and the willingness to put in effort beyond formal board meetings,” she says. 

McAdams says the OnBoard team wants the organisation to become the home of startup governance in New Zealand, and is ensuring it evolves “to respond to other ways we can drive positive outcomes for the innovation economy through governance”. 

OnBoard is supported by the tech ecosystem with local venture funds including Movac, Blackbird, Punakaiki, Nuance Connected Capital, GD1, BridgeWest Ventures, WNT Ventures, Pacific Channel, Outset, and Motion Capital working with their respective portfolios to generate host boards to participate in the program. 

The quarterly training modules are delivered by organisations which also sponsor the program including DLA Piper, NZ Trade & Enterprise, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, Callaghan Innovation and the Institute of Directors. 

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