Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

In my role as an angel investor to startups, I’m struck by the broad variety of advisor strategies I see in investor presentations and business plans that cross my desk. That’s the function of a good advisory board. Keep the advisory board to a manageable size.

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Advisory Board Angel Investor Later Stage Stock 310

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Investors want board seats and a vote on key decisions.

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Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2010

Every startup faces a myriad of challenges that are well beyond the scope of any founder, so you need a few guiding lights to illuminate the road ahead. I recommend that every early-stage startup find three Advisory Board members. Once your company is past the startup stage, you do need a board of directors.

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Advisory Board Technical Review Software Review Early Stage 125

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. Today people over 55 are almost twice as likely to create successful startups as Gen-Y, age 20 to 34. Member of the Advisory Board. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

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Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

A large part of this conversation is what kinds of advisors startups should be looking for. A little while ago, I suggested that Every Web/Mobile Startup Should Have a Technical Advisor. We both felt that most startups are not taking a very systematic approach to defining with they need in terms of advisors. Connected Advisors?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. Today people over 55 are almost twice as likely to create successful startups as Gen-Y, age 20 to 34. Member of the Advisory Board. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

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Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Investors want board seats and a vote on key decisions.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Venture Capital Startup 310

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 26, 2009 A real Customer Advisory Board A reader recently asked on a previous post about the technique of having customers periodically produce a “state of the company&# progress report. One example is having a real Customer Advisory Board.

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Advisory Board Customer San Francisco Lean 151

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2022

In my role as an angel investor to startups, I’m struck by the broad variety of advisor strategies I see in investor presentations and business plans that cross my desk. That’s the function of a good advisory board. Keep the advisory board to a manageable size.

Advisory Board 308

Advisory Board Angel Investor Startup Later Stage 308

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2017

Many entrepreneurs I know are confused by definition and need for an Advisory Board versus a Board of Directors. By definition, Advisory Boards are voluntary and have no fiduciary responsibility. As an alternative, every CEO needs an Advisory Board to help them grow, which they can ignore or fire at their pleasure.

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Advisory Board IPO Angel Investor Acquisition 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2012

If you are an entrepreneur for the first time, or entering a new business area, it’s usually worth your time to assemble an Advisory Board of two or three executives who have travelled that road before. Here are some tips on using your advisory board effectively: Select people who complement your experience.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

By Bob Arciniaga In developing the content for this article, it was very apparent this advice is not only critical for startups but for most companies. The suggestions are even more vital in a startup environment with constrained resources. A properly built advisory board can be a huge strategic advantage to any company.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

The Next Web

JULY 12, 2017

Here’s something they might not have told you when you set up your startup to “be your own boss” — everyone has bosses. Every startup CEO knows that in theory their advisory board is just here to ‘advise’. Here are the four types of people you’ll encounter on every startup advisory board and how to deal with them.

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Advisory Board Startup Web Naming 136

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

Many entrepreneurs I know are confused by the definition and need for an Advisory Board versus a Board of Directors. By definition, Advisory Boards are voluntary and have no fiduciary responsibility. How much are you willing to spend on your board? Legally, Directors are accountable for corporate conduct.

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Advisory Board IPO Angel Investor Acquisition 348

NZ Entrepreneur

APRIL 28, 2019

Here’s how to build a startup advisory board. And while it often seems more involved and complex than it is in reality, setting up an advisory board is something you should look to put in place in the early stages of your entrepreneurial venture. Selecting an advisory board is the tricky part.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2020

Many startup founders I know avoid establishing a formal advisory board or board of directors for as long as possible, with the excuse that this is just another burden, or it has more risk than value to the founder.

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Advisory Board Startup IPO Government 336

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from peers, your advisory board, and outside experts and mentors. Don’t try to carry all the weight on your own shoulders, as team members are likely closer to the customer, and my have some real insights. Good business leaders collaborate on tough decisions.

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YoungUpstarts

JUNE 4, 2019

by Bruce Cleveland, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners and author of “ Traversing the Traction Gap “ As we continue our exploration of the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step approach that startup teams can use to go from ideation to preparing to scale – I will walk you through the principles.

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Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 127

www.instigatorblog.com

MARCH 2, 2010

Home About Contact My thoughts & lessons learned on startups, entrepreneurship, marketing and other stuff. The Importance of Advisory Boards for Startup CEOs Tweet When a startup receives financing it will need to setup a Board of Directors. Advisory boards are not for the company, they are for you. .&#

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2010

In my post, Technology Roles in Startups , I described some of the different ways I engage with startup companies such as CTO Founder , CTO , Part-Time CTO , Acting CTO , Consultant, Advisor and Advisory Board Member. Now, most often technical advisors are part of a broader advisory board.

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Technical Review Advisory Board Technology Fractional CTO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2010

If you are an entrepreneur for the first time, or entering a new business area, it’s usually worth your time to assemble an Advisory Board of two or three executives who have travelled that road before. Here are some tips on using your advisory board effectively: Select people who complement your experience.

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Advisory Board Stock Options Stock Networking 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. dream team entrepreneur startup technical'

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2019

Image via Flickr by MDGovpics Many entrepreneurs I know are confused by definition and need for an Advisory Board versus a Board of Directors. By definition, Advisory Boards are voluntary and have no fiduciary responsibility. How much are you willing to spend on your board?

Advisory Board 247

Advisory Board IPO Angel Investor Startup 247

YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2019

by Bruce Cleveland, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners and author of “ Traversing the Traction Gap “ As we continue our exploration of the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step approach that startup teams can use to go from ideation to preparing to scale – I will walk you through the principles.

Framework 113

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 113

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Our guest speaker for our fourth class was John Hurley , former Member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, an expert on semiconductors and supply chains, and former Captain, U.S. Gov’t should do regarding semiconductors? Class 4: Guest Speaker. If you can’t see the slides, click here.

Technical Review 366

Technical Review Taiwan Technology Artificial Inteligence 366

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

This is especially true for startups, which operate on the basis of customer traction to solidify expectations with investors or lending institutions. When it occurs, the consequences can be swift and devastating, wreaking potential havoc on a once steady stream of revenue.

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Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. In any case, your startup is now part of some investor’s portfolio, so you need to treat the situation like reporting to a new boss, and not like a new freedom.

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Term Sheet Advisory Board Liquidation Preference Startup 433

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2022

Actually, according to Paul Graham of Y-Combinator fame, “Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup. More startups may fail for that reason, but a close second is the difficulty of raising money. The best angels you will find are the ones who know you personally, or know a member of your team or advisory board.

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Angel Investor Advisory Board Database Institutional Investors 384

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Advisory Board. At one of our initial board meetings we had agreed on the general principle of an advisory board and put together an overall stock budget to compensate advisors. Over the next week we exchanged emails over advisory board stock. I knew he would bring immense value to me and the company.

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Advisory Board Part-Time VPE CTO Hire Stock 260

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Many entrepreneurs think that diversity on their team just makes their job harder, since startups are all about making fast decisions, and executing efficiently. In reality, diversity in a startup can be your big competitive advantage. This means your plans will be more creative, and your solutions to problems can occur faster.

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Advisory Board Silicon Valley Startup United States 228

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Register some intellectual property.

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Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. Today people over 55 are almost twice as likely to create successful startups as Gen-Y, age 20 to 34. Member of the Advisory Board. boomers entrepreneurs gen-x gen-y startups'

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Entrepreneur Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor 266

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 2, 2013

He also served on the advisory boards of several technology companies and currently sits on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Data Storage Institute of the Government of Singapore. We took the opportunity ask him to how storage virtualization and its trends would affect technology startups.

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Advisory Board Technical Review Singapore Startup 150