Startup Advising: Things To Consider

What does a Decacorn and unicorn have in common? They all have a board and great advisors that helped them get to where they are today.

Becoming a successful company can be tough in the early days and only gets harder as a company grows. When a company brings in advisors and investors it can offer a different perspective, introductions to partners and additional support to help the founders of the company.

When you’re considering a company to advise, it’s important to keep in mind your goals for working with the company.

Here’s a list of things to consider when it comes to startup advising, along with a list of things startups need help with:

What you should ask yourself before committing

• Time Commitment: How much time will the company need me for? Based on your schedule you’ll want to only commit based on what works best for you.

• Is this all they want me for: Sometimes advisor shares are given in the hopes an advisor becomes and investor

• How will I be compensated: Will you be compensated in cash and stock or one or the other.

• Does this idea interest me: nIf you don’t think the idea is one that interests you on a daily basis but it can grow it might be easier to just be an investor in the idea vs advising the company.

• Do I think this founder will succeed? If you don’t feel comfortable with the people you’re working with or investing in it’s best to continue your search for a company that provides more peace of mind.

What Startups Need or Are Looking for

• General advice on business decisions. Should we buy this, should we avoid this.
• Offering your expertise in an industry you’re familiar with in some cases can save companies millions of dollars. Many times what might be common knowledge to you as an investor or advisor might be foreign to a startup founder.
• Help with introductions: Sometimes startups not only need introductions to other investors but to potential partners to help with aspects like hiring, sales, planning, finances, etc.
• In some rare cases startups lack the talents resources and will recruit advisors as employees. In these cases you might have dual roles as an advisor/investor and employee.  

As a venture studio, VAULT meets with investors, advisors and founders to help introduce them to each other based on mutual fit.

Interested in introductions to companies looking for advisors and investors? Reach out to hello@vaultinnovation.com and we’ll add you to our monthly investor email and we are always willing to meet with potential advisors and investors to discuss different opportunities available in our pipeline and portfolio.