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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