Advisors Stop Screwing Startups

TL;DR - Some people are bad advisors. Avoid them somehow.

Advisors are bullshit. The only real reason you would attach one's name to your company is the same reason Porsche puts the logo on its cars. Porsche does not have the best performing cars, but because of their name they can sell their models for more.

If you actually need another person's advice...that is free. Believe it or not, there are people way smarter than your average VC who will answer your questions for free. But really, god help you if you can't figure out the majority of your problems on your own.

We've had a few people introduced to be "advisors". Very hard to get the right balance of value for both parties. We bailed both times and decided to just back ourselves.

Sorry, I didn't get it completely. Does the author imply that you should not have advisors? Or have advisors that add real value rather than some sort of name dropping?

"as soon as you accept money, its no longer a favor, its a job"

If an advisor is getting a small amount of equity they are not being paid and it is not a job. Giving 1% of nothing to someone who can open the right doors, offer a unique perspective, and possibly contribute significantly later is a great thing. The longer term intentions of the advisor and potential roles need to be flushed out first.

Surprise. Like any one receiving equity (employees, VCs, etc.) you need to perform due dilligence to make sure you're getting value out of the relationship.

You wouldn't just accept the first VC offer you received would you? You also very carefully pick which VCs you approach (as the network they have is very important as well).

Why wouldn't you do the same thing with advisors?

The purpose of advisory roles (in large and small companies) is age. No one wants to answer to someone significantly younger than him, so how does a 30-year-old CEO leverage the experience and skill of people in their 50s and 60s? The answer is advisory positions.

The idea behind an advisory position is that it's usually part-time and not entirely subordinate. The CEO can terminate the relationship, of course, but it's assumed that the advisor has a full-time job already (or is retired) and won't be hurt much if this happens.

When the role works, the advisor can speak candidly and as an equal, because he's not entangled in the office politics and he's not afraid of losing his job.