a16z Podcast: Getting That First Board Seat

When you're going for a board interview -- especially when it's your first board seat -- you're actually not supposed to go into it advocating for yourself and trying to convince people that you're a good operator, as you might in a job interview. So what does the board interview involve then? Is all the common advice we hear about getting on boards (e.g., "don't talk about strategy") really true?

TaskRabbit COO Stacy Brown-Philpot, who was just announced to the HP Inc board (in Hewlett Packard's first major board shuffle since it split into two companies), answers these questions and shares other interesting nuggets from her experience getting her first board seat. She also shares why she went for a public board, as well as what other factors you should consider -- and really matter -- when considering board service. Joining her is Matt Levy, who manages a16z's board and mentor talent network as part of the executive talent team. For more resources on boards, see http://a16z.com/tag/board-matters-series/.