How to Build a Startup Advisory Board

You know how they say startups take a village? Well, creating an advisory board can be an excellent way of forming your village—and improving the quality and quantity of the guidance you’re getting.

What an Advisory Board Is (And What It Isn’t)

Think of an advisory board as a formal collection of mentors. Advisors provide individual expertise, give you advice, introduce you to valuable contacts, and tell you when you’re potentially making a mistake.

Many people confuse an advisory board with a board of directors. However, they’re completely different—a board of directors consists of people who act as shareholder representatives and have certain legal and business powers (including firing the CEO). An advisory board doesn’t have any official authority.

In addition, any company can have an advisory board, but they’re not mandatory. Public companies, on the other hand, are required to have a board of directors.

And while advisors typically meet with the company leaders intermittently, the board of directors must meet at scheduled times.

Finding Advisors

You should look for people that can flesh out the areas of business with which you’re least familiar. Let’s say you’ve got a ton of experience in product development, but very little in brand communications and PR. You’d probably want to find an experienced communications and PR strategist to join your board.

By picking advisors who can “round out” your team’s knowledge and capabilities, you’ll ensure that your business can grow in every aspect—not just the ones you and your employees know. Plus, when it comes time to hire, say, a head of marketing, your advisor can give you his or her expert opinion on the candidates.

If possible, you also want your advisors to have experience, background knowledge, or an interest in your industry. Imagine you’re the founder of a startup making robotics for the restaurant industry. An advisor well-versed in robotics can tell you the liability and risk insurance policies of which you need to be aware. A different advisor who’s done a lot in food service can help you navigate the supply chain.

In addition, you also want to ask people who seem to genuinely love your product. Being an advisor is time-consuming—someone who’s passionate about what you’re doing will be more mentally and physically present.

That eliminates a ton of candidates. And there’s still one more important consideration: How well-known are your potential advisors?

Like when you get a prominent VC firm or angel investor to fund you, securing “big name” advisors will give you instant credibility within the entrepreneurial community.

After considering all these factors, make an advisor wishlist of 20-25 people. And we do mean “wishlist": Don’t worry if some of them seem out of reach!

Approaching Potential Advisors

Some of the people on your list may already be acting as advisors, just without the title. They’re the easiest to ask: Tell them how much you appreciate their advice, then say you’d be honored if they’d consider joining your advisory board.

Strangers are a little more difficult, for obvious reasons. Use LinkedIn to see if you have any mutual connections. If you do, ask that person to introduce you. If you don’t, try cold-emailing the potential advisor.

Check out this sample email:

Hi name,

My name is your name, and I’m the founder/CEO of startup, a company that 5-10 word explanation. I’m reaching out because I know you… have 20+ years of experience working with healthcare startups/successfully scaled your company from two employees to 2,000/are an expert in financial tech, etc.

I’d love to buy you coffee or lunch (at your convenience, of course) and get your feedback on startup name’s product/service/roadmap/growth strategy/other.

Thank you,

Your name

A couple of notes:

• Meeting in-person is ideal, but if you don’t live nearby and you can’t afford to fly out to see them, suggest a video call instead.
• Do not ask them to sign an NDA—you’ll come across as presumptuous and ignorant.
• Don’t say you’re reaching out because you want them to be your advisor. A) You don’t know if you want them yet, and B) That’s like asking someone to be in a relationship with you before your first date.

Out of the 25 or so people that you email, expect to hear back from around 15.

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by Aja Frost via SitePoint