There is a very good chance that your company will have more staff than just you. Since you will be working closely with the key members of your company, you should give careful consideration to how to form your team, who will be on the team, and the roles and responsibilities of each of the members.

It is rare that the group of individuals that originally start a company makes up a complete core management team. It is important to obtain key personnel or have a plan to obtain key personnel early on.

One source of potential employees for filling out your management team is early stage investment firms. Many times these firms are in contact with experienced individuals with the entrepreneurial mindset needed to succeed in a startup. The following links will take you to the websites of some of the firms in the North Texas area.

A good general discussion on employee issues can be found at http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P05_0000.asp.

A good Board of Directors can often make the difference between success and failure in a startup. Many times the board of directors will be determined by your choice of investment partners. This critical element in the make up of the upper management of a company is almost always covered in the term sheet you get from a venture capital firm. If they are going to make a sizable investment in your company they are going to want some amount of control on upper level decisions.

It is generally recommended that the board be kept small for logistical reasons. It is sometime very difficult to get a large number of very busy executives together at any one time. As the company grows the BOD probably will too but a typical start up BOD might look something like:

Internal:
   President & CEO
   COO or CFO
External:
   Representative from lead Venture Capital Firm
   Representative from secondary Venture Capital Firm
   Independent board member

The independent board member is usual chosen by the company and approved by the investors. From this structure it is apparent that there is really only one board member that isn´t predetermined. Try to get someone that can add value in areas not covered by the existing members. You may want to consider picking this independent director from an entirely different industry than the one you are in. Many times getting a viewpoint from a different perspective can be extremely valuable.

It is important to know that the main focus of the Board of Directors is on upper level business issues and not marketing or technical issues. Many times a separate Advisory Board is formed to address these issues. This board is often made up of industry leaders, strategic partners, and other interested parties.

Compensation for individuals on both these boards general consists of payment of expenses and stock options. Generally they will also require some sort of mechanism to limit their personal liability. Liability insurance for Directors and Officers can be obtained from a wide variety of carriers.

More information on BODs and Advisory Boards can be found at: