After talking with dozens of entrepreneurs in Entrepreneurs’ Organization and EO Accelerator, I’ve learned that most bootstrapped companies don’t have a formal board of directors. This makes sense as these are bootstrapped companies, and many would be described as lifestyle businesses. Here’s the interesting part: when I talk to these same entrepreneurs, they want more accountability and people to formally help them grow their business.
Here are a few reasons entrepreneurs want more accountability without a board:
- Many entrepreneurs get distracted easily (e.g. mild ADHD) and a board could hold their feet to the fire
- Entrepreneurs often miss growth targets and shrug it off blaming it on something outside their control
- Some entrepreneurs have a tendency to get complacent once their initial goals are met
Fred Wilson mentioned previously on his blog that a board is most useful if they can fire the entrepreneur. If some of these entrepreneurs want more accountability, and had a board with the power to fire him/her, that sure would make things different. My belief is that these entrepreneurs don’t want more accountability but do want more success.
What else? What do you think of entrepreneurs wanting more accountability without a board?
David Cummings on Startups 
I believe there’s a spectrum between “zero accountability” and “at the mercy of the board”. A peer group (or advisory board) with intimate knowledge of my business that asks tough questions and forces me to reflect on performance relative to targets is far more effective than no accountability at all. At the very least, it gets my head out of the weeds and brings the big picture back into view.
Verbalizing my progress (or lack of it) to people I respect is a very powerful motivator — even if they can’t fire me.
Agreed. Thanks for the great comment.