Frequently Asked Questions

The board of directors is the supreme supervisory and organizational body of a company.

The board members are subject to fiduciary duties, which obligate them to act in the best interest of the company. In Switzerland, board members have a personal liability.

Being a board member is a different role than being a founder or CEO of a company. In Switzerland, the role of board members is getting increasingly complex and difficult. You bear the full responsibility of the company.

Often, it is more complex to serve as board members of a startup, scaleup of SME than large corporations. You have less resources than big firms, you have to deal with risks that are potential killers for the company, you have to bring skills and knowledge that are not yet inside the company.

Because the role of founder and member of the management team is incredibly demanding. Independent board members or advisors can help you to accelerate and avoid typical pitfalls. Startups with experienced board members will be more resilient and have a higher chance to perform. A strong board will help you to attract investors.

This will change over time and depends on the phase of the company. But what is important is the right balance between founders,  investors representatives and independent members. The chairperson will play a crucial role and his/her professionalism will be key to the success of the company.

Diversity is very important, this is not just about genders but it is about the right panel of diverse generations, skills, backgrounds, experiences, in order to cover your blind spots!

• We start with an initial assessment of the Board to identify with you the causes and effects of the challenges
• Leveraging on our experience, we develop with you a set of recommendations to improve the efficiency of your board
• Together we define an action plan and we agree how we can best accompany you in the implementation process

• We are active Board Members of SMEs and startups and have a deep understanding of your challenges with more than 30 years of Board experience
• We have 100+ company case studies from which to extract ideas and lessons learned. We work in a flexible and entrepreneurial way

• Startups, scale-ups and SMEs up to 10 staff, pay a flat fee of CHF 500.- for a matching search with up to 4 proposed accredited members.
• Startups, scale-ups and SMEs more than 10 staff, pay a flat fee of CHF 1’000.- for a matching search with up to 4 proposed accredited members.
• If needed, additional member proposals can be provided for a fee of CHF 200.-  per member proposed.

• Apply to our Startup Board Academy training program
• Get approved by the selection committee to the Startup Board Academy training program
• Successfully complete the four half days of training
• Get accredited through an assessment conducted by our senior board experts
• Activate your membership on the Board Matching Switzerland platform
• The yearly membership fee for accredited board members to be listed on our database and included in searches is CHF 500.-