All of those problems can also happen in large companies.

shareholder meetings, properly run AGMs and the SEC are pretty good at weeding out boards who zig-zag or bicker. million dollar plus investments in companies with very little oversight are a different story. This is why it's called high-risk, and VCs accept it- but in reality if 9/10 listed companies crashed-and-burned after IPO...

I have friends who have worked in corporate environments that were just as screwed up as what he describes.