This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

First time formally advising a startup. Tips?

Elvira58·Jul 07, 2020

I signed on to be an advisor for an early-stage startup that is building a solution to a problem I was trying to solve a few years back. We arranged for standard advisor terms i.e. 1%, 2 years vesting & 3 month cliff. The CEO and I have weekly meetings scheduled. This is my first time advising a company formally. Any advice or tips you could provide me would be much appreciated!

JocelynD·Jul 07, 2020

Interesting that you have weekly meetings scheduled... make sure this really is an advisor role vs you simply not getting paid and acting as a consultant or the unpaid head of an organization. In my experience advisor roles have been around connecting, making intros, reviewing documentation, offering feedback (as opposed to me 'creating' something, which a paid employee should be doing).

Kai217·Jul 07, 2020

Ask questions - open ended, have you considered, what are the goals etc. It should be more of a mentoring role than providing answers/work as JocelynD alludes to.