There is increasing interest among companies -- small and large -- in putting together technical advisory boards. It sounds pretty straightforward: get some senior technical experts to help with the technical speed bumps. But if that is all your technical advisory board is, you are missing out. Built and utilized correctly, a technical advisory board can be a huge advantage when it comes to mapping out a long-term strategic plan, finding talent, and building a great engineering culture.

On this segment of the a16z Podcast we break down the right way to build a technical advisory board; what you should expect from the board (and just as important, what you shouldn’t). And for those looking to serve on a technical advisory board, the reasons to do it, as well as the things to consider before committing.

This conversation was recorded as part of an event featuring four technical experts: Arnie Goldberg from PayPal; Purnima Padmanabhan, former CEO of Cavirin; Alex Roetter, SVP of Engineering at Twitter; and a16z General Partner Peter Levine.

a16z Podcast: Building the Right Technical Advisory Board

The a16z Podcast discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future -- especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This podcast is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletters and other content as well!