Monday, May 19, 2008

Start-up Advisors

Andrew Warner from Mixergy posted - Before Looking for Funding, Get an Advisor. He recommends that early stage companies get input from people who know the funding process, know the vertical, etc. That's great advice. Of course, it's sometimes hard to find advisors.

On the flip side, as a person who regularly advises early stage start-ups, I often have a hard time finding interesting start-ups. Like Christian Gammil (who I recommend as an advisor) working with entrepreneurs is something I really enjoy.

I've recently begun a round table that I'm hoping will help in a small way, but even there it's going to barely scratch the surface.

Maybe Andrew, Chris and I will figure out a way to address the friction around this. Actually, the friction is even higher trying to find a partner for a start-up. eHarmony for start-up / advisor relationships?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Entrepreneurs face many challenges beyond creating and making the core product.

I was involved in an entrepreneurial "support" organization for 10 years. We found that a team of advisors and service providers was needed to help an entrepreneur succeed.

Later, we offered a series of formal workshops lead by experienced advisors to make sure all areas were covered.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the kind words. We should definitely work on reducing friction and I really like Cliffs idea of work shops. I've been kicking that idea around for a bit and have been working on a list of participants, topics, etc. Look forward to discussing more soon.