8 ms·

It's damn good question, and I can't really help you, only sympathise. Yes maybe you can find advisers with your best interests at heart by ferociously network

by retube 16y ago

It's damn good question, and I can't really help you, only sympathise. Yes maybe you can find advisers with your best interests at heart by ferociously networking. But in my experience it's a long shot. Why is some (essentially random) guy with lots of experience gonna help you for free? Unless there are real mutual synergies - i.e he'll get from you something equivalent - it's never going to happen. And even if you can pay for it - that's probably not _quite_ what you're looking for as a small start-up. If you don't have these connections to start with, I'd plan for not having them at all. The best you can probably do is - whenever it is you get around to commercialising your product - is hire a lawyer. They'll be able to offer you sound business advice.

mediaman 16y ago
Please don't listen to your lawyer for sound business advice. They can advise you on legal issues, but they generally will be very conservative when giving general business advice, because they view their job as eliminating risk rather than maximizing upside. Some of them can be very good negotiators too, within confines. Lawyers can, however, be a great source for referrals to advisors.
- retube 16y ago
  The value of a lawyer is that they'll likely have seen your situation before. They'll have advised companies through issues and decisions like yours in the past. They'll have seen this stuff over and over.
mindcrime 16y ago
Yes maybe you can find advisers with your best interests at heart by ferociously networking. But in my experience it's a long shot. Why is some (essentially random) guy with lots of experience gonna help you for free? Ego. When you tell somebody "I value your opinion and want your feedback" it's an ego boost. Everybody likes to feel valued, and everybody like to talk and give their opinion. Look at us, just now, answering this question. We're not getting paid for this, right? And some people simply like helping other people, for whatever reason. Maybe somebody loaned them a hand when they were first starting out, and now they feel a need to reciprocate by helping others. Maybe there's no such thing as pure altruism, but there are people who derive pleasure from helping others and sharing information and advice. Finally, you can always offer equity in your startup. Some reading I've been doing lately suggests that it's normal to offer a small chunk of equity n exchange for a more formal relationship / commitment from an advisor.
- retube 16y ago
  Sure. I love helping people, I really do. And yes I might yap away at some meet to some guy and give him the best advice I can. But am I going to enter into a long-term relationship with him? A long-term commitment? Highly unlikely. This is only going to happen if there is some personal connection. Edit: and re our discussion here, on this thread: a couple of passing minutes to spit out a comment is not exactly in them same league as committing to being a company's adviser.
  - mindcrime 16y ago
    Edit: and re our discussion here, on this thread: a couple of passing minutes to spit out a comment is not exactly in them same league as committing to being a company's adviser. Well clearly there are degrees of commitment. I think you might be surprised how much people are willing to help, for free. But, as I said, there may come a point where you have to compensate an advisor if you want a certain level of commitment. But for startups, depending on exactly how much you're asking of your advisors, you may be able to simply give them a fairly small equity stake, in exchange for their help. This is only going to happen if there is some personal connection. Well, yeah. Of course. But you have to meet somehow and form the initial connection, in order for that deeper connection to grow. Maybe your advisor becomes somebody you met while networking 3 years ago (of course, pointing that out probably isn't helping the OP much) and formed a friendship with.

by retube 16y ago

mediaman 16y ago

Please don't listen to your lawyer for sound business advice. They can advise you on legal issues, but they generally will be very conservative when giving general business advice, because they view their job as eliminating risk rather than maximizing upside. Some of them can be very good negotiators too, within confines. Lawyers can, however, be a great source for referrals to advisors.

retube 16y ago
The value of a lawyer is that they'll likely have seen your situation before. They'll have advised companies through issues and decisions like yours in the past. They'll have seen this stuff over and over.

mindcrime 16y ago

Yes maybe you can find advisers with your best interests at heart by ferociously networking. But in my experience it's a long shot. Why is some (essentially random) guy with lots of experience gonna help you for free? Ego. When you tell somebody "I value your opinion and want your feedback" it's an ego boost. Everybody likes to feel valued, and everybody like to talk and give their opinion. Look at us, just now, answering this question. We're not getting paid for this, right? And some people simply like helping other people, for whatever reason. Maybe somebody loaned them a hand when they were first starting out, and now they feel a need to reciprocate by helping others. Maybe there's no such thing as pure altruism, but there are people who derive pleasure from helping others and sharing information and advice. Finally, you can always offer equity in your startup. Some reading I've been doing lately suggests that it's normal to offer a small chunk of equity n exchange for a more formal relationship / commitment from an advisor.

retube 16y ago
Sure. I love helping people, I really do. And yes I might yap away at some meet to some guy and give him the best advice I can. But am I going to enter into a long-term relationship with him? A long-term commitment? Highly unlikely. This is only going to happen if there is some personal connection. Edit: and re our discussion here, on this thread: a couple of passing minutes to spit out a comment is not exactly in them same league as committing to being a company's adviser.
- mindcrime 16y ago
  Edit: and re our discussion here, on this thread: a couple of passing minutes to spit out a comment is not exactly in them same league as committing to being a company's adviser. Well clearly there are degrees of commitment. I think you might be surprised how much people are willing to help, for free. But, as I said, there may come a point where you have to compensate an advisor if you want a certain level of commitment. But for startups, depending on exactly how much you're asking of your advisors, you may be able to simply give them a fairly small equity stake, in exchange for their help. This is only going to happen if there is some personal connection. Well, yeah. Of course. But you have to meet somehow and form the initial connection, in order for that deeper connection to grow. Maybe your advisor becomes somebody you met while networking 3 years ago (of course, pointing that out probably isn't helping the OP much) and formed a friendship with.