First-time startup founders and entrepreneurs get their fair share of advice. While most advice can be taken with a grain of salt, I'm a huge believer in the importance and value of leaning on experienced advisers to help you build your company.
After recently joining the advisory board of Mobcrush, a startup I'm stoked about, I've been thinking a lot about how to be a stellar adviser, drawing from my own experiences both being advised and advising others. What characteristics truly separate the good from the great? And more importantly, how do I make sure I don't suck?
"Advice = limited life experiences + overgeneralization." –Paul Buchheit.
So, let me overgeneralize some of my own life experiences and give you some advice on getting advice, and what to look for in your advisers.
Competitive drive
More often than not, advisers have another full-time job, which often results in the needs of those they're counseling falling a few spots on their priority list. Completely understandable, but a great adviser demonstrates a relentless drive to do whatever it takes to make you successful, much like you would want out of your top employees and co-founders.
One of SweetLabs' original advisers, Alex Rampell, founder and chief executive of TrialPay, was fantastic in this regard. He had this competitive streak to him, and would repeatedly tell me that he wanted to be the best adviser we'd ever had. He would proactively reach out to offer his help and advice, rather than the typical reactive approach of responding to a need when called upon. Despite his day job and the other companies he advised, he made us feel like he was part of our team and not just another startup on his list.
Relationships, not intros
Connections and introductions are table stakes for any adviser. However, the quality of these connections is what makes a good adviser great, and I don't just mean the caliber of contacts in their network, but the actual relationship and credibility they have with each one.
When my cofounders and I first started our company, we were lucky enough to bring in Gokul Rajaram, also known as the Godfather of AdSense, as an adviser. Not only did he provide us critical guidance early in the company's history, but also, as you can imagine, his network was extensive and boasted some biggest names in tech. More importantly, though, Gokul had strong relationships with each of his contacts. They trusted and respected him, so when he made intros to some of the folks startups can only dream of meeting, we'd get responses and meetings right away. Every adviser will and should make intros for you, but be sure to test out a couple to see what the conversion rate looks like before you decide to bring them on.
Your confidant
There's a reason people often say that being a founder or chief executive of a startup is one of the loneliest jobs in the world. To grow a startup from scratch, there are many challenges and problems that you might not feel comfortable talking openly to anyone about … your employees, your investors, your family. Not to mention, you will naturally receive biased feedback.
That's where a great adviser comes in. You should be able to trust your great advisers during your darkest moments — when you have to let go of a good friend you've worked with for years, when you feel like your investor is screwing you, when you feel like your company is going to crumble. The great advisers can be an unbiased sounding board as you go through ups and downs both personally and professionally throughout the life of your venture. Great advisers become your confidant, and a "startup psychologist" of sorts, especially if they've been in your shoes before.
Brutal honesty
Of course, you're adding advisers who have related experience and expertise to what you're trying to build. However, what they also have are the battle wounds and war stories that you will never read about on a tech blog. Great advisers are willing to share those insights with you regardless of the painful memories. They've been in the trenches and when you're facing challenges that seem insurmountable, you'll want to hear their tales; how they lost their largest customer right as they were raising money, how they had to lay off some of their best friends to keep the company afloat, etc. You're not going to find a how-to video or blog post on this stuff; the best advisers have been through it and are brutally honest about the experience, no matter how gory.
Actionable advice
You're signing up an adviser to give you advice. The best measure of the value of that advice is the action and change that it prompts. Great advice from a great adviser is specific and attainable, where a founder can walk away and do something differently as a result. Food for thought is great and every adviser will provide it, but a starving entrepreneur needs to challenge the status quo and embrace change. A great adviser provides a different perspective or a new angle, as they have the benefit of not being stuck in the weeds. You'll know if you're responding, "Whoa, I never thought of it that way" and implementing change as a result.
Chester Ng is a cofounder and the chief marketing officer of SweetLabs, an app distribution platform for developers and device makers. He was the token business founder of SweetLabs, which has grown to driving over 1 million app installs daily and is backed by Google Ventures, Intel Capital, and Bessemer. Chester is also an adviser to startups like Mobcrush and MashLogic (acquired by Groupon). Previously, Chester spent seven years in various sales and business development leadership roles at DivX. He is a recent transplant to the bay area, but prefers to still claim sunny San Diego as his home.
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