Our friends at the YEC asked 12 entrepreneurs to share what they look for in a potential advisory board member. Here’s what they shared:
Coaching Ability
“The best advisors don’t just tell you the answer. They know that they don’t know the answer, and the best way to help is to ask powerful questions that get a mentee to think differently and question his own assumptions. Ask questions — don’t give advice.”
— ERICA DHAWAN of Erica Dhawan, LLC
A Passion for Something Other Than Making Money
“Increased revenue and profitability are byproducts of honesty, hard work, thought leadership and authentic passion around your trade. Find someone who’s not willing to sacrifice those most scalable attributes while they consult.”
— ANDREW LOOS of Attack!
Excitement About Your Idea
“We want someone who is as excited about our idea as we are — because that’s what gets people motivated to help you beyond what’s necessary. ”
— BENISH SHAH of Before the Label
An Action-Oriented Personality
“The one quality we always look for when thinking through an advisory board is the ability for the person to translate his advice to action. When choosing between a big name and someone who actually greases the wheels and participates, I would always pick the latter. ”
— AZITA ARDAKANI of Love Social
Deep Industry Knowledge
“You want someone who has strong industry expertise that you can use for strategic planning. Their involvement in your industry will also mean a larger professional network that you can utilize. And their deep knowledge of your industry will help you to avoid making major mistakes.”
— DAVID EHRENBERG of Early Growth Financial Services
Culture Fit
“Culture fit sounds like something that is talked about frequently during employee hiring, but not during board-building processes. If the advisors of the company don’t understand the personality, passion and purpose of the startup they’re helping, their advice is likely to miss the mark, and the entrepreneurs may end up taking it with a grain of salt.”
— SHRADHA AGARWAL of ContextMedia
Alignment With Key Team Members
“One of my favorite ideas for adding advisors is matching them up with one of your executives/key team members. They often need them just as much as you do!”
— DEREK FLANZRAICH of Greatist
Communication Skills
“Communication skills are essential. If he can’t communicate advice – or communicates it badly – it won’t help you succeed. All that knowledge is wasted.”
— JORDAN GUERNSEY of Molding Box
Networking Skills
“The ability to network is crucial. People don’t realize how important it is to have a strategic advisor who can connect you with the right people and resources to help expand your company faster.”
— AARON PITMAN of RA Domain Capital
Intelligence
“Intelligence is essential. Advisors should be wicked smart, with black-and-white common sense so anything can be debated (and never argued). ”
— ZIVER BIRG of ZIVELO
Diversity
“I stacked my advisory board with a cross-section of people: doctors, vice presidents, managers, retirees and average Joes. I also went with customers and non-customers who were people I respected and wanted advice from. Don’t forget that these people need to share a diverse background of experience to draw from if they’re going to be of assistance to your company.”
— ROBBY HILL of HillSouth
Experience
“One quality you need from an advisor is experience in the trenches of business. If you have someone on your advisory board who’s been where you want to go and can help you avoid pitfalls, you’re saving yourself a lot of headaches. ”
— JOE BARTON of Barton Publishing