Growing Without Losing Yourself: Strategic Governance and the Role of the Board in Hypergrowth Small and Medium Businesses (SMB)

Hypergrowth is an exhilarating time for any SMB. Sales are booming, hiring accelerates, and opportunities multiply. But behind this whirlwind lies a challenge that is often underestimated: the changing role of the owner operator. The person who built the business with passion and intuition suddenly finds himself or herself in a world where decisions must be shared, structured… and sometimes questioned.

To successfully navigate this transition, one powerful—and too often overlooked—lever is the establishment of a board of directors (or, in some cases, an advisory board). Far from being a luxury reserved for large corporations, this body can become the cornerstone of strategic governance in a growing SME.

From Operational to Strategic: A Necessary Transformation

In the early years, the founder is at the centre of everything: sales, human resources, operations and innovation. But as the company grows, this concentration of power becomes a bottleneck.

The leader must then shift posture: from an omnipresent manager to a strategic leader. This means delegating execution—but also accepting being held accountable for key directions through a formal governance structure.

That’s where the board comes in: it enables the founder to take a step back, validate intuitions, and anticipate risks through experienced outside perspectives.

Why Set Up a Board of Directors or Advisory Committee?

A well-structured board provides:

• An independent and critical view of strategic directions.
• Decision-making support for structural issues: growth, financing, diversification, acquisition.
• A safety net against the founder’s blind spots.
• Greater credibility with investors, financial partners, and future talent.

In times of hypergrowth, decisions are numerous, urgent, and sometimes risky. The board acts as a stabilizer—without compromising the company’s agility.

What Skills Should Be Sought to Build a Strong Board?

Before setting up a board of directors, a hypergrowth SMB must take time to step back and conduct an environmental analysis of its business context. This reflection should help surface the real issues:

• What internal assets can be leveraged?
• What vulnerabilities need to be addressed?
• What market challenges must be anticipated?

This analysis becomes the foundation for a structured strategic plan: setting priorities, defining development paths, planning investments, and outlining a trajectory for sustainable growth.

From this strategic plan, the board’s skill profile must be derived. If the company is aiming for international expansion, for instance, it makes sense to include a member with strong international development experience. If fundraising is planned, financial expertise becomes essential. The idea is for the board to be tailored—not generic—and truly aligned with the organization’s challenges and ambitions.

In short, effective governance begins with strategic clarity. And that clarity is built through sound environmental analysis and a clear sense of direction.

Environmental Analysis and Strategic Planning as Foundations for Board Composition

The board is not meant to duplicate the executive team but to complement it. One must therefore seek diverse profiles, aligned with the company’s key challenges.

Key competencies to consider include:

• Business strategy: Challenging the vision, structuring growth.
• Finance/risk management: Reading financial statements, structuring funding.
• Human resources: Supporting the professionalization of management.
• Digital transformation: Guiding automation and technological innovation.
• Industry experience: Understanding specific sector dynamics.
• Governance: Supporting the development of strong, ethical practices.

Ideally, profiles should be diversified (gender, generation, background, experience) to broaden perspectives.

What Role Should the Board Play in a Hypergrowth SMB?

The board is neither a management committee nor a passive think tank. Its role is to guide, structure, and assess, while leaving operations to the executive team.

Its typical functions include:

• Validating or challenging strategic directions.
• Approving budgets, investment plans, and key hires.
• Overseeing the company’s overall performance.
• Supporting the founder through the role transition.
• Acting as a watchdog for ethics and risk management.

A strong board does not dictate—it illuminates, structures, and amplifies the founder’s leadership.

What Impact on the Owner’s Role?

Implementing a governance board accelerates the founder’s maturity:

• It frees them from certain decisions, while ensuring competent oversight.
• It requires them to articulate their vision clearly and justify their choices.
• It helps them prioritize and escape reactive mode.
• It builds their credibility as a strategic leader—especially if they plan a fundraising round, acquisition, or succession.

In return, the founder can better focus on what matters: growing the business without burning out—and without holding it back.

Conclusion: To Govern Is to Share Power With Discernment

Setting up a board of directors in an SMB is not just a formality—it’s a structuring decision, an act of trust in the company’s future. It recognizes that growth requires not only resources but also a framework for collective thinking.

For the owner operator, it’s an opportunity to learn to govern differently: by surrounding oneself with the right people, listening, and choosing battles wisely. Because while hypergrowth is an opportunity, it does not forgive improvisation.