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My advisor's are actually people that I already knew and are experienced entrepreneurs that I kept going back to for advice. I didn't seek them out and say "wil
by paulsb 19y ago
My advisor's are actually people that I already knew and are experienced entrepreneurs that I kept going back to for advice. I didn't seek them out and say "will you be my advisor?", it just naturally occurred. The advisor's I have are people that know and trust; they are also people that have 'been there and done that'. I have found my advisor's to be a great source of experience that I can tap into, and they are also great at keeping me focused and grounded - I tend to get too excited and carried away with my ideas.
It's always a good idea to find advisor's/mentor's that can help guide you along a successful path, and with whom you can bounce ideas off. I found the best way to find advisor's is to just find someone experienced in what you need advice in; if you keep going back to them for advice, then they naturally become your advisor's.
There are also different types of advisor's: business advisor's, technical advisor's, funding advisor's. Therefore, the type of advisor you need really depends on what stage you're at. Ideally, you would find one that has experience in a range of areas.
Have a read of: http://venturehacks.com/articles/advisors http://venturehacks.com/articles/advisors
- dustineichler 19y agoWould you ever trust a VC to be an advisor? (A VC not funding you.) @All, thanks for the input so far. Given me a lot to think about and consider.
- aneesh 19y agoUmm ... if they're a VC and they're your advisor, why are they not funding you? One possible explanation is that they don't believe in you, and unfortunately this is what most outsiders will automatically assume. It's not really a question of trust.
- dustineichler 19y agoReally good point. More to it than that, but thanks.
- lux 19y agoAgreed. I say talk to anyone you can. You don't want to be pushy or anything, but most people love giving advice and being asked about their business or what they do. I tend not to limit who I talk to to just entrepreneurial or software industry people either, I like to throw ideas at anyone I can. But the closer to the line of business, obviously the more they can speak on it. I'm really lucky to have a dad who's also self-employed (that must be why I lean that way too), but regardless of the line of work they're in, it's interesting to hear different business owners talk about their experiences, and I think that helps to think about my business from different angles too. Startups are just new businesses in a fairly new area, so experience in other areas of business are totally applicable. You can talk to anyone you know (friends' parents who own businesses, for example) about how they got started, how they got from idea to profitability, how they got through rough patches, etc.