How to handle a VC who flies First

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like it would be better to speak with the VC directly about this. If you can't have a candid conversation about expenses with one of your investors, you probably shouldn't be in business with them.<p>Drafting up the expenses agreement, having the board approve it, and having the comptroller deal with it seems like a lot of work that could have been dealt with by a simple conversation instead.

Is it really that common to be in charge of a company and simultaneously lack the basic assertiveness necessary to say you're not going to cover lavish travel expenses?

I kind of feel like this is a bandaid solution. While this may help with travel expenses this seems indicative of a larger issue that needs to be dealt with directly. I think you need to have a talk with your investors about this rather than taking the passive approach.<p>On a side note most investors I know (admittedly that number is very very small), but still they would be incredibly conscious of any sort of over the top expense and would want the money to stay in the company and be used for something more productive than a better seat on a plane.

Off topic but...Last year I started work on the other side of the world at a large bank. The reimbursement policy clearly stated that for any flights longer than X hours (might have been 5), business class HAD to be taken and any non business class WOULD NOT be reimbursed even if it ended up to be less expensive.

I liked this article so much that I wrote a response ( <a href="http://kirkwylie.blogspot.com/2011/09/good-vcs-dont-charge-their-companies.html" rel="nofollow">http://kirkwylie.blogspot.com/2011/09/good-vcs-dont-charge-t...</a> ) about a reasonable policy that I wish all VCs would adopt: charge firms what they'd pay for employee travel.

Another advantage of being in the bay area and taking investment here too. I'd be fine with ubering board members, or picking them up myself.<p>Do board members seriously expense meeting costs to early (series a) companies? I haven't seen this, but I haven't seen non local investors at late stage companies either.

I don't really understand this post. Why would a VC stay in a crappy hotel? Traveling is stressful and a burden. A company should do everything in its power to ease that burden. Everyone from our CEO to our admins stays at the Ritz Cartlon when traveling to NYC. If a company can't make similar accommodations then I wonder how much they truly care about their employees.

Not for nothing, but full fare economy can often be more expensive than discounted biz tickets. Having an actual conversation telling the VC to cool it might have ended up saving you more money.