68. How to recruit the perfect advisors (or directors) for your startup

A strong advisory board is a powerful asset for your startup that can transform your ability to grow and fundraise.

So, you need to recruit some good advisors. These are not just pretty faces to decorate your deck but should be people who can materially impact the success of your startup. But, who should you ask to join your board, and how do you find them?

In this article, I share my methodology for building the perfect advisory board for your startup.

Advisors can help you in many different ways, such as:

• Name recognition & PR value

• Technical expertise

• Startup experience

• Fundraising relationships

• Marketing experience

Unfortunately, many founders build their boards by chance. They ask any likely prospects they happen to meet. This often leads to a group of weak advisors providing the same capability to the company while leaving many needs unmet.

What do you need?

First, list out all the things you would like to get from your advisory board. The list above is just a starting point. Spend some time brainstorming all the ways you could benefit from an advisor with a particular skill set or background.

Next, rank those desires from highest priority to "nice to have."

Who could be an advisor?

Now that you know what you're trying to get out of your advisory board, it's time to start looking at who might fill those positions.

Start with the people you already know. Write down everyone in your network who might make a good advisor.

Next, start looking beyond your direct contacts for other people who might be good candidates. Ask all of your immediate connections for suggestions and introductions to people who might be helpful. Let them know the capabilities you are looking for.

Also, use tools like LinkedIn and other social media for friends of friends who could be a match.

Build a matrix

Now you need to build a spreadsheet to analyze your advisor candidates.

Put all your desired advisor capabilities across the top from most to least important. Down the left side, list all the people you have identified so far.

For each potential advisor, mark all of the capabilities they could bring to the table. You might even highlight boxes where that person would be exceptional in that capacity.

The best candidates will check off multiple boxes or provide outstanding capabilities in one of the most important categories.

Go hunting

Look at the matrix you created. Are there any columns with no checks at all? If they are at the critical end of the range, you need to start hunting.

Rather than asking for general recommendations, you will now reach out to your network with a particular request. Ask for the names of people who would fill those critical gaps.

Look at non-competitive companies in the space to identify people who could meet your needs.

These are critical roles on your advisory board. Don't worry about connecting to these people right now; just add them to the list.

Prioritize

Now you have a list of candidates who cover all your most significant needs. The next step is to prioritize them so you can start asking for their help.

This is not a purely quantitative process. At the top, put the people who cover many bases or stand out in one high priority capability. From there, try to get coverage of the rest of your needs with as few people as possible without sacrificing quality.

Outreach

The next step, not surprisingly, is to start reaching out to each of those people at the top of your list. If you don't have a direct connection, see if you can network to them. If you can't find an introducer, try a cold outreach. Those work much better with soft requests for advice than when you are pitching for investment.

If you get a firm "no" from one of your top picks, remove that person and reshuffle your list to make sure you can still get what you need. Then move on to contacting the next person.

Ideally, you want to cover all your most important roles using no more than six advisors. Beyond that, the time required to manage and interact with them becomes overwhelming. Also, since most advisors will ask for equity, having too many can create significant dilution.

Actively leverage your board

I have seen many founders assemble a stellar team of advisors, which they leave on the bench. They rarely ask for help or keep them updated on the company's progress.

The advisors are passively vesting their equity while adding nothing but their headshots in the pitch deck (which typically caries little weight with investors).

Exactly how to leverage your board is the subject of a future article.

Revisit your board

The composition of your advisory board and what you need from it will evolve over time.

For example, when you hire a VP of Marketing, you might not need an expert marketer as an advisor anymore.

In the beginning, I suggest re-evaluating your advisory board quarterly. Later that can move to yearly as the pace of change slows.

Consider each of your advisors. Are they pulling their weight? Do they contribute what you thought they would? If they are not delivering, you should consider replacing them. In some cases, they will provide more than you expected across more categories than you anticipated. That might present an opportunity to streamline the board.

Also, look at whether new needs have appeared. Now that you are bigger, do you need someone who understands corporate governance or HR? Perhaps you should start looking for someone who can help you manage through an IPO or acquisition in the next year or two.

Your advisors are an invaluable trove of knowledge, skills, and relationships. If you bring on the right people, they can add rocket fuel to your startup.

Until next time, Ciao!