Course overview
A practical introduction to the responsibilities, expectations and dynamics of being a Non‑Executive Director in a venture‑backed business.
This one‑day course supports individuals stepping into their first NED role within early‑stage companies, providing a clear understanding of what effective board contribution looks like in a VC context.
Led by experienced practitioners, the programme explores the unique pressures and opportunities of joining a board, including fiduciary duties, legal and governance requirements, founder‑investor dynamics, and the realities of navigating fast‑changing environments.
Through real case examples, delegates will gain the confidence, frameworks and practical insight needed to add value from day one and support both founders and investors in building resilient, scalable businesses.
Key topics include
- What to expect in the boardroom:
- Essential attributes and skills to be an effective NED
- Potential pressures and challenges
- Dynamics in the room
- Financial health of a business and cash flow management
- Successful M&A
- Key personnel
- Customer pipeline analysis
- Product road map
- Preparing for upcoming funding rounds
- Pre-meeting preparation including KPIs and reporting
- Risk management
What will delegates take away?
- A clear understanding of NED responsibilities, including legal duties, liabilities and governance requirements in venture backed companies.
- Insight into effective board behaviours, decision making processes and how to balance oversight with support.
- An understanding of board structures and processes, including information flows, board packs, KPIs and meeting management.
- Tools for navigating common challenges, such as underperformance, scaling issues, shareholder tensions and strategic pivots.
- Increased confidence in contributing to high growth boards, informed by case studies and practitioner experience.
Benefits to employers
- Better prepared future NEDs, able to represent investor interests professionally and constructively.
- More effective board engagement, with delegates understanding legal frameworks, governance expectations and the realities of early-stage decision making.
- Reduced risk, as new NEDs gain awareness of duties, liabilities and common pitfalls in VC board environments.
- Stronger investor–founder relationships, supported by NEDs who can communicate clearly, mediate effectively and maintain alignment.
FAQs about this course
What should I expect on the day?
Please arrive with plenty of time to register. Breakfast will be provided along with lunch and refreshments, with a drinks reception at the end of day 1. The course will kick-off with introductions followed by content from multiple speakers as per the agenda.
What’s the dress code?
Smart casual.
What should I bring with me?
You may wish to bring something to work on/ to take notes such as a laptop or iPad (we will provide note pads and pens).
Will materials be shared with delegates?
Yes, all materials, including slides and case studies, will be shared with delegates.
Course Director
The course is led by Elaine Coughlan, learn more about her below.
Elaine Coughlan
Elaine has over 25 years of experience in running and scaling technology companies, including successful realisations through IPOs and M&A. Based in Dublin, Elaine was previously co-founder and director of Glonav, a GPS company that was acquired by NXP for $110 million. Elaine served as CFO or vice president of finance for three successful technology IPOs - Parthus, IONA and Smartforce – that realized more than $5 billion in value for investors.
She is currently on the board of Atlantic Bridge portfolio companies FieldAware, WellAir and Swrve (observer). She was named one of Europe’s Top 50 Inspiring Women in Technology, one of Ireland’s Top 50 Women in Technology. Elaine holds an MSc in Corporate Governance, is a qualified Chartered Director and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Guest speakers
The course features guest speakers with a wealth of expertise and experience from across the private capital industry. Click a speaker below to learn more about them.
Barnaby Terry
Barnaby has worked in venture capital for more than 30 years initially with 3i plc, then as one of the Founding Partners of Elderstreet Capital Partners, the best performing 1999 VC fund in Western Europe.BHe is currently Managing Partner of Sussex Place Ventures, specialising in B2B SaaS, IT Services and Deep Tech. Barnaby has invested in some of Europe’s most successful technology businesses including Content Technologies, acquired by Baltimore for $1b. He currently sits on the boards of Kantata and Cutover and is an active angel investor. Barnaby is an engineering graduate of Imperial College and started his career in enterprise sales in the data communications industry and holds an MBA from Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
Dr. Ilian Iliev
Dr. Ilian Iliev founded EMV Capital in 2018. After its acquisition by NetScientific PLC (now EMV Capital PLC), he became group CEO. Previously he co-founded and was CEO of CambridgeIP Ltd, which he built into a leading IP and patent strategy and data analytics provider in the UK and internationally.
He also worked as a strategy advisor for various corporate clients. In the 1990s he co-led a family business in industrials and electric engineering in Southern Africa. He is a Board member on behalf of the Group at many portfolio companies, including , Glycotest Inc. (Chair), Sofant Technologies, PointGrab, Q-Bot, Martlet Capital, DName-iT, Vortex and Wanda Health (Chair). He is a Board member of NASDAQ-listed PDS Biotech Inc.
Ilian holds a PhD from Cambridge University’s Judge Business School with a focus on Venture Capital; Master’s in Economics from the Witwatersrand University, South Africa; and is a former Associate Fellow at Chatham House. He has authored numerous academic, policy and industry reports.
Olav Ostin
Olav Ostin is Founder and Managing Partner of TempoCap, a pan-European primary and secondary tech investor with offices in London, Paris, and Berlin. Olav has been active in the venture capital and secondary industries for over 20 years. In 2021, he was named one of RealDeals 20 most influential people in venture capital and private equity for TempoCap’s successful exits of Depop for $1.625B to Etsy and CurrencyCloud for $925m to Visa in 2021. In 2006, Ostin co-founded TempoCap, which was part of the DFJ Network from 2012 to 2016. TempoCap has acquired 11 portfolios of assets and closed multiple single assets transactions. Olav was educated at EM Lyon, France.
Richard Anton
Richard Anton is Co-Founder and General Partner at Oxx, the scale-up stage SaaS investor based in London and Stockholm. Prior to this, Richard was at Amadeus Capital, where he focused on B2B software investments in companies originating from the UK and Israel. Before joining Amadeus, Richard worked as a hands-on finance and business development executive at software company Autonomy, and was previously in the TMT team at Apax Partners. Richard's notable current and past investments include ForeScout (NASDAQ: FSCT), Autonomy, Codility, Lightico and SOCRadar. Richard is a past Chairman of the British Venture Capital Association and of the Tel Aviv University Trust. He has an MBA from INSEAD and a BA and MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University.
Shruti Iyengar
Shruti Iyengar is an Investment Director at Future Planet Capital where she supports the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund as well as the Blue Ocean Mandate. Prior to joining Future Planet Capital, she was an Investor with an early-stage climate tech fund, Sustainable Ventures, where she managed a portfolio of 36 companies, lead their 12 month-long Accelerator programme, and built out their impact measurement practice.
Shruti began her career in Singapore where she worked with organizations across Southeast Asia including UN Women, Singapore International Foundation, and DBS Foundation to build out their impact investing and measurement strategies. She was involved with developing numerous incubator programmes for early-stage companies and mentored founders scale their businesses across verticals such as food/agri-tech, healthcare, and sustainability. She also worked closely with Government agencies, Centres of Innovation, and SMEs in the region, delivering and evaluating the impact of SME support programmes, building her expertise across sectors such as manufacturing, precision engineering, energy, and environment/water technology.
Shruti holds a dual degree in Mathematics and Economics from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and is a Women's Merit Scholar from London Business School's Master's in Finance programme.
Tim Mills
Tim is Managing Partner of ACF Investors, an early-stage venture manager which works in close partnership with sector focussed angel investors to back some of the UK’s best high growth companies. Launched in 2011 ACF’s current £100mn fund targets capital efficient operating models and crowds-in sector specific hands-on expertise to help teams short cut the path to growth. ACF generally invests at late seed and is a multi-round investor and has backed more than 125 companies a range of sectors.
Tim is a technologist by background and started his career in the technology group at Merrill Lynch. Moving to early stage investing in 2008 he went on to help establish the British Business Bank, where he was an Investment Director until 2018, leading investments into some of the Europe’s most successful VC funds. He launched ACF in 2011 and has been building the portfolio since.
CPD accreditation
This course is CPD accredited by the CPD Certification Service for 8 hours. By attending this course, you will receive a digital certificate from Diplomasafe. This certificate allows you to share and save your new CPD accredited qualification on LinkedIn, adding instantly verifiable credentials and strengthening your professional profile.
Code of Conduct - Attendance at L&D courses
UK Private Capital is committed to bringing members together in a professional environment to collaborate and network. We have established this code of conduct to provide guidelines to participants, and to ensure that all participants understand what behaviour is expected of them at our training courses.
