Ways an Advisory Board

Can Help Your Startup

Tom Walker

Accelerate

Boards of advisors can provide insight,

offer suggestions, and be a sounding

board when you need to talk.

Advisory boards, unlike boards of directors, do not

carry legal or fiduciary responsibilities.

They are there voluntarily to help you.

Advisory board

members can

help you

fill in the gaps

in your

experience

and expertise.

This is an opportunity to supplement the talents and skills of the founding team with experts who have different functional backgrounds.

Advisors can help you with potential customers.

Concept and Seed Stage companies have to learn as much as possible

about the companies and markets they plan to serve. A warm introduction

by a mutual acquaintance is always preferable to a cold call.

connect

Advisors will tell you when

you are heading down the

Entrepreneurs can be stubborn. They make mistakes.

An advisor who is there because he or she wants to help

you succeed may be able to stop you before you take the

next wrong step. If not, they can help you figure out, based

on their experience, how to clean up a mess.

wro

ng

path.

Inviting a trusted person

to participate in your

advisory boardexpands andstrengthensthe relationship.

““

Even if the individual

has to turn you down,

they will appreciate

being asked.

If they aren’t able to

devote the time to be on

your board, maybe they

will make themselves

available for periodic

telephone calls.

Learning to work effectively

with an advisory board gives

you hands-on practice for

learning to work with a board

of directors.

As you consider building an advisory

board, think about people you

trust to ask the questions you

haven’t thought of yet.

It’s a smart way to plan for success.