Many technology companies operate in a state of barely controlled chaos. Founders and management are thinly stretched, trying to change the world with limited resources. Cash is tight, there are problems and risks at every turn, and it is often years before stability can be achieved.
As a consequence, the governance of tech companies can be pretty challenging at times. Directors often need to play a more active role than traditional governance courses might recommend, and they need to continually work around the conflicts involved in having founder and investor representatives at the board table. To make things worse, the normal rules about decision making don’t apply in many cases because investors have special approval rights over various board decisions. Joining the board of a high growth tech company is definitely not for the faint hearted.