Erik Mihikovsky - Pebble Watch Founder, Y Combinator Partner Hiring an
advisor or building a network of people who can help you is a defining moment for a budding founder, especially first-time founders. I did it on my own, I had ups and downs in the process, but this is all, as with other stages of a startup, you just have to accept it. I succeeded in finding advisors who were 3-5 years ahead of me in the same field. I started a consumer electronics company. I reached out to other CEOs who had built more or less successful companies in the same industry as me, but who were three years ahead of me in the startup cycle.
The advisors I started working with were amazing because their experiences were still relevant and they could share. They could talk about the problems they faced and how they dealt with them, what worked in one case or another, and what did not. The experience they gained was still pertinent, as the time frame was relatively close. They could still remember and look back to talk about what they were doing.
I also had advisors and mentors who went a little further. They were more suited to thinking about strategies, they were the kind of people I can come to with my ideas and get feedback. They were less helpful in hiring people in a particular field.
It is important to have a wide range of advisors. This is one of those difficult things about being a CEO and the only responsibility a CEO has - all decisions are on your shoulders and you cannot pass them on to someone else. This is what you and your advisors will have to work on.
You cannot turn to just one person, you need different people. You need to combine their advice and experience in your head and, based on this, make decisions. Everyone loves to give advice, everyone has a huge and varied experience, some people think they are able to apply their experience to your company. But it may not always be this way, and your job is to combine all of these tips and decide how to apply them in a specific situation.
It's common to offer advisors, especially those who have been helping your company for a long time, some kind of reward. But it’s quite common to offer the advisor from a quarter of a percent to perhaps three-fourths of a percent, and pay them monthly for about two years. Sometimes, perhaps, longer, but usually not more than two years.
I'm also used to the fact that those advisors to whom I provide some capital really earn it. For example, I have a weekly call with my marketing mentor. At 8:30 every Monday we pick up the phone and talk for about 15-20 minutes. I think this is a great rhythm for someone who really wants to help.
In conclusion, I want to say that it is really important for the CEO of a startup to find advisers and mentors who can help him on his adventure. This is a difficult road and you need a person who has already gone through this path.
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