Adam Sterling: The Independent Director Initiative.

Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

0:00 -- Intro.

1:23 -- Start of interview.

3:32 -- Adam's "origin story". He grew up in southern California where he attended UCSD and graduated from UCLA. In college he became an activist focusing on the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, and developed a "targeted divestment" model. After college he became a social entrepreneur based in Washington, DC.

4:06 -- His decision to pursue a JD/MBA from UC Berkeley. While in grad school "he fell in love with the startup tech scene" and during business school he tried to start his own startup but that's where he learned that "it doesn't matter how good your idea is when you don't have a good team and good execution." He then joined Gunderson Dettmer as a corporate associate supporting tech founders.

7:14 -- Adam's new role as Assistant Dean for Executive Education and Revenue Generation at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. How his initial work with 500 Startups with the BCLB sparked more executive education programs.

9:24 -- On the origin and mission of The Independent Director Initiative.

12:20 -- What makes corporate governance in private venture-backed companies different to public companies. Explaining VC University (a partnership between Berkeley Law, NVCA and Venture Forward).

15:42 -- The Academic Partners of the Independent Director Initiative:

• Berkeley Law Executive Education;
• Berkeley Law Center for Law and Business;
• Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School;
• UC Davis School of Law;
• UC Hastings Law Center for Business Law;
• Institute for Law & Economics at the University of Pennsylvania;
• Silicon Valley Executive Center at Santa Clara University;
• Rowling Center at SMU Dedman School of Law;
• Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University;
• Stanford Center for Racial Justice at Stanford Law School; and
• Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law.
• University of Washington School of Law

The Organizational Partners of the Independent Director Initiative:

• Ascend;
• BLCK VC;
• BoardList;
• Bolster;
• Corporate Directors Forum;
• The Fourth Floor;
• HBCUvc;
• Him for Her;
• LCDA;
• National Black MBA Association;
• National Venture Capital Association;
• NxtWork
• Venture Forward.

18:07 -- On the interest and number of applicants to the program (~500 applications, 80 got selected in first cohort).

19:21 -- On fiduciary duties of directors in venture-backed companies (including dual-fiduciary conflicts). Role of independent directors, and boardroom diversity in private venture-backed companies. The Trados case (2013).

38:43 -- The evolution of private markets and how its regulation may impact corporate governance.

40:06 -- Take-aways from the program: 1) more education is needed for directors of venture-backed companies generally (beyond just independent directors), and 2) it was refreshing to see such a diverse and qualified group of executives that could serve on corporate boards.

41:56 -- Where can people learn more and/or apply for the next cohort of the Independent Director Initiative: independent.venturecapitaluniversity.com

42:57 -- Benefits for participants beyond just the two days of the program. Placements.

45:27 - Some of the books that have greatly influenced his venture career:

1. Venture Deals, by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (2011)
2. Secrets of Sand HIll Road, by Scott Kupor (2019)

45:51 - Who were your mentors, and what did you learn from them (regarding this program)

1. Evan Epstein (!)
2. Afra Afsharipour, UC Davis Law School

46:26 - Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." Martin Luther King, Jr.

46:26 - An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves: walking 40min for his commute. "Owning your downtime."

48:55 - The living person he most admires: his wife.

Adam Sterling is the Assistant Dean for Executive Education and Revenue Generation at UC Berkeley’s School of Law and the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business.

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You can follow Adam on social media at:

Twitter: @adambsterling

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambsterling/

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You can follow Evan on social media at:

Twitter: @evanepstein

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/

Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/

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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

You can follow Evan on social media at:

Twitter: @evanepstein

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/

Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/

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You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:

Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod

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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License