Harvey Knight
Founder, InvestingDirectors
Places investing non-executive directors, advisers and C-suite operators into growth company boards.
Harvey Knight founded InvestingDirectors, a governance search practice that appoints non-executive directors, advisers and C-suite operators to UK growth company boards on the condition that they also invest in the company.
He writes the guides in this section from what the practice sees in live mandates: what companies budget for a first independent appointment, what directors are offered in fees and equity, and where appointments come apart. Figures are taken from named published sources or from our own network, and labelled either way.
Guides by Harvey Knight
- What does a non-executive director cost in the UK?
Fees, equity and time commitment, using published UK benchmarks: £80,888 across the FTSE 150 and £41,686 across private companies.
Pay and equity · last updated
- When should a startup appoint an independent director?
The trigger is not a stage, it is a board composition. If your board is founders and investors with nobody independent, you are already late.
Board building · last updated
- What does a non-executive director do at a startup?
Four jobs: hold the chief executive to account, bring pattern recognition, open doors, and turn the board into a decision-making body.
Board building · last updated
- How much do non-executive directors get paid in the UK?
Fee benchmarks by company type, why non-executive pay has fallen 11.8% behind inflation, and why equity is the half most directors never negotiate.
Pay and equity · last updated
- Should a non-executive director invest in the company?
How a director invests in their own board's company without creating a governance problem, and what has to be declared and recorded.
Governance · last updated
- Advisory shares: vesting, cliffs and what to negotiate
Carta puts the median pre-seed adviser grant at 0.21%, not the 1% most guides quote. What UK advisers should check before signing.
Pay and equity · last updated
- SEIS and EIS when you invest and join the board
Paid directors are usually excluded unless the business angel exemption applies. The order of events matters, and so does the 30% rule.
Pay and equity · last updated
- D&O insurance for non-executive directors: what to check
Nine checks before you accept a board seat, including whether the policy survives insolvency and whether there is a separate non-executive limit.
Governance · last updated