Tech / Board View | Tim Weller

Entrepreneur, investor and veteran growth Chair Tim Weller, on his mantra for getting your foot back on the gas, how to spot a winner and why founders should always be the board's heroes. 

Tim founded Incisive Media in 1995 and grew it from a team of 13 people and £275k of capital, building the business to 2,500 staff, operating in the US, Asia and the UK with revenues of £250m. He led Incisive’s successful IPO in 2000 and subsequent management buy out in 2006.

Tim’s an experienced Chair of international public, private and VC-backed businesses across media, digital, design and technology fields and is an active angel investor. Aside from founding and Chairing Incisive Media, he’s  chaired a wide-range of growth companies including RDF Media,  Tremor Media, TI Media,  WeJo, Superawesome and is currently Chair of Resi, Pixomondo, Sohonet and Trustpilot, which recently completed a £1.4bn IPO. 

What do you enjoy most about Chairing a business?

From a personal point of view, I enjoy chairing growth companies as they give me a sense of purpose and allow me to be useful. I want to continue working: mentoring younger extraordinary entrepreneurial people is a wonderful thing. What's not to love about building a business that's useful: hiring people and creating opportunities? I’ve always loved creating opportunities for talented people. 

What do you look for in a growth business when signing up?

The first thing is the leadership team: what are the founder and CEO’s aims and aspirations? Do they have integrity? Do they mean what they say? Is there personal chemistry? There obviously also needs to be underlying trust. As for the business, I always ask: does it have the potential for growth? Is it in a good sector? Does it have a tech / creative view to it and does the business have the ability to scale, not only domestically but internationally.

 It’s also important to establish the founders’ vision and mission - you don't want to get involved with a founder who's got as far as they can. Finally, it’s got to be fun, you’ve got to be able to have a laugh, even in a crisis!

What do you advise a founder to look for in their Chair?

Is there chemistry and immediate warmth? There needs to be inherent trust, and the ability to laugh in tough times. You need to think: what can that person add? What does their experience bring to bear? Can they support and guide me? You don't want a Chair who wants to be the CEO, a good Chair is not the hero of the business - the founder always is. The Chair mentors to help them make decisions and is there to run the board, not run the business.

What are the most important things a Chair can bring to a growth company?

For a Chair to be effective, you need to have a helicopter view without getting too executive - and for growth businesses are a coach not a cop. Most of my role is allowing Founders to trust their instinct and make speedy decisions. I make myself available 24/7, which I prefer to structured weekly meetings. 

 A good Chair should be an effective bridge between the management and investors, that’s really important. As a company gets bigger with more investors around the table, you need to make sure everyone has a voice, so spending time with board members, investors and of course, the management team and focusing on priorities to make things happen is key.

Do you think founders make better start-up Chairs? 

I don't think it matters in the slightest! It comes down to empathy: can you put yourself into the shoes of that person - it goes to the personal chemistry you'd have. Although I can tell Founders I have been where they have been and feel their pain! It’s lonely being a Founder, you need support to be successful.

How have you worked differently with your founders during the crisis - will it change how you do things from now on?

I’ve been through a number of crises: the dotcom crisis, recessions and the financial crisis, my advice is: plan for the worst and hope for the best. The only way my role changed was being there 24/7 and 100%. My previous experience could help them shape decisions, think through a roadmap, and project methods - and the importance of focusing on priorities like cash, staff welfare, customer welfare and series of project plans to get in place. 

 The founders have worked much longer hours, have needed to speak more frequently, have had more structured reporting - often weekly board updates - the CEOs are all doing Town Halls. One of my companies in particular was hit really hard and we spent a lot of energy looking at pivoting the business, we focused on how to reset and then grow. 

 Once you’ve come through the worst then you need to ask: how do you put foot back on the gas? I have a three stage mantra: stabilise, revitalise and grow. 

 What advice are you giving to your founders about managing the crisis and coming out the other side?

 Everything rests on the quality of your bench and organisational structure: what does it look like? Who do you have in your teams? Have we got the right people and are we in the right place to recover and grow? Where there are skill gaps, you need to keep looking at the bench. You need different types of people to help growth, and above all, focus on the customer.

On your listed boards, are you witnessing enough digital knowledge in the boardroom? Does that need to improve?

I think the lack of digital expertise in the boardrooms of public companies has led to a fundamental loss of value, especially in areas like retail. Customers may think a retail experience in a store is fine but it can be shocking online. Boards need a range of digital skills on tap to address this, so in short I don’t think boards have been that well-equipped.

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