How to find and compensate startup advisors

Executive overview

First-time founders need advisors, but the wrong ones waste time. The most useful advisors are 3–5 years ahead of you in the same domain — recent enough to remember specifics, close enough to have faced the same problems.

Strategic advisors work well for big-picture thinking. Operational advisors work better for hiring, intros, and tactical decisions. You need both, and you can't outsource decision-making to either.

The CEO's job is to synthesise advice from multiple sources and make the call — not to follow any one advisor's playbook.

Finding the right advisors

• Target advisors 3–5 years ahead of you in the same domain
• Recent experience matters: they can remember actual decisions, emails, what worked
• Later-stage advisors are better for strategic thinking, not day-to-day problems
• Build a broad set — different advisors for different needs

Advisor equity and accountability

• Standard grant: 0.25%–0.75% equity, vesting monthly over two years
• Cliff is optional; straight two-year vest is more common
• Set expectations up front — require a regular cadence (e.g. a 15-minute weekly call)
• Structured check-ins keep advisors engaged and make the equity feel earned