Optimising for exponential growth: what happens on early boards of tech ventures?

There is evidence that active boards of investor-backed tech ventures add huge value. Yet very little is known about what happens on early boards of investor-backed ventures and what it is directors do that contributes towards growth during the crucial early stages of development. This paper showcases the preliminary findings of an inductive study into the director experiences on early boards of investor-backed tech ventures in the UK. The results reveal that directors engage in the process of optimising for exponential growth which takes place over three stages: validating, behaving bigger and realigning. The emerging model is novel as it integrates behaviours, structural and cognitive processes and offers an explanation for the variation in director behaviour and the level of contribution during the early stages of venture development.