Thank all. I'm reading and thinking and distilling all these potential ideas and actions into the three things that I absolutely need to do before all others.
All useful input -- for the business as a whole as well as for the advisory board that I had in mind at my time of writing. I appreciate the time you put into your responses. Steven. On Tuesday, November 6, 2012 9:44:48 AM UTC+11, Ruchir Punjabi wrote: > > Hi Steven, > > I have an advisory board and so I thought I would share my thoughts. > > 1. I agree with Andre on remuneration. Equity or anything else does not > usually add up. You can offer it, but if you are an early stage start up > they won't really care. In fact in many cases they will want to avoid any > liability (especially in Aus) and them being on a formal Board. They will > give you time because they think you have great potential. You really want > to show them you are grateful for their contribution! Send them a thank you > note/card, take them out for dinner - that will do it. > > 2. If you can, try and find them in your city. When you spend time with > them, the value you will derive in person meetings cannot be replaced. I > came across some amazing people e.g. from San Fran but Skype did not cut > it. I felt sometimes the other person did not quite understand where I was > coming from. > > 3. I tried board meetings for a year but even with 3-4 week notices and > board papers I would usually find one out of three people missing. If you > can go with a specific agenda to each of them separately I find it more > effective. Especially in their area of expertise. I usually meet each of my > advisors once every 2 months and call them in between if I need more advice. > > 4. Connections are great, but what I value most about them is their > experience. I would rather have someone on my board because they are > successful in a similar domain and understand what it takes to build an > organisation. If they are not from the same domain - that's ok. Usually if > they are smart and your field isn't incredibly technical, that is ok. > Otherwise you can get one or two people who understand the technical > aspects. > > 5. I also have a lot of "advisors" beyond by Board - probably about 7-8 of > them. They are not officially on my Board of Advisors but I see them every > 3-4 months for specific issues in respective areas like HR, Marketing, > Online web application, etc. In fact if I see anyone who has some > experience that I can learn from - I usually try and catch up for a coffee > with them and with some I do it more than once. Of course in the end it > comes down to how you decide to apply their experience to your context. > > 6. Ask specific questions you are facing problems with. There is a danger > for them to think big, so focus. Also try and pick people who are blunt. > People who will say something you do not want to hear are usually great. It > will help you make your decisions better. > > 7. Establish metrics on your progress if you can and show them those. If > you do it 2-3 times, they will ask you the fourth time and its a good way > to be kept in check. If you are single founder this helps a lot. Even if > you don't reach your milestones, you can explain why but it helps you stay > focused. > > 8. Do what suits you - this kind of ruins the first seven points. I sit on > a few boards and so I approached this with a few "acceptable" ideas and > found that it could still work in a way that suits my board and my business. > > I hope this helps. > > All the best, > Ruchir > > -- > Ruchir Punjabi | Managing Director | +61 412 606 725 | +91 81412 85757 | > @ruchir_p <http://www.twitter.com/ruchir_p> > www.langoor.com | www.langoor.mobi | @langoor<http://www.twitter.com/langoor> > | Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/langoor> | > LinkedIn<http://www.linkedin.com/companies/langoor> > > > Ruchir > > On Friday, November 2, 2012 12:32:15 PM UTC+11, Steven Noble wrote: >> >> Hi all, >> >> I'm thinking about recruiting an advisory board, partly as a foil against >> the isolation that comes from being a sole founder. >> >> (See my 'seeking cofounder' post: >> https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/silicon-beach-australia/OdpjJeXbPbk >> ) >> >> I'm assuming most of the advice about how to do this is obvious -- e.g. >> be clear about what you want from the board, be clear about what you offer >> the board in return, take the board's advice but still make the final >> decisions, etc etc. >> >> But I'm wondering if anyone in this group has personal experiences in >> this area they might want to share? >> >> I'm thinking a board would consist of: >> >> # Someone with direct knowledge of my target market >> # Someone with direct knowledge of the service I want to provide that >> market >> # Someone with direct knowledge of the process of developing >> a successful web application >> # Someone with direct knowledge of the process of creating >> a successful startup >> # Someone with direct knowledge of business and legal fundamentals >> >> I'm thinking quarterly catch-ups with the entire board and then regular >> Skype one-on-ones with any board member depending on the current issues the >> startup faces. >> >> What are your experiences with this? >> >> Steven. >> Founder & CEO, Testivate (http://testivate.com) >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list. 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