Initial situation & problem 

New, better and successful things only emerge from extremely focused thoughts. But it is precisely with this kind of focus that start-ups often lack the money and time for the many complementary areas of company management.

This is where a advisory board comes in handy. For us, there are three levels that characterize the value contribution of an advisory board in a start-up: (a) complementary knowledge, (b) protection of the (new) company, and (c) support in the market environment. A major value contribution of the advisory board is the creation of support, as a sounding board or sparring partner - be it for the MVP, proof of concept, proof of market, necessary pilots, scaling, regulation, and so on .... 

In addition, and no less important, corporate governance is a topic that young companies also need. The earlier you take care of good corporate governance, the easier it will be to meet the ESG requirements of today's investor world when you go into further financing rounds.

Approach & implementation 

Complementing. 

A well-chosen advisory board can cover a large part of the open areas. Good solutions in finance, communication, HR, admin structuring and, last but not least, in questions of the further development of overall corporate governance in a rapidly growing company will pay off in terms of the stability and attractiveness of your company. 

Hedging. 

You will receive the first round(s) of seed funding on the basis of "story" and "team", but as soon as a VC or family office joins the group of investors, it's time for in-depth due diligence. And this is where you can really score points with a good advisory board that points out important issues at an early stage, as this will greatly reduce one of the major investor risks of overlooking any "skeletons in the closet". 

Supporting. 

Good advisory boards help with their own experience and expertise, especially with their connections to the market, their networks and their ability to find the right partners to build an ecosystem. This is where the great benefit of an active advisory board becomes apparent. Why think about board members who are not invested with you? At this point, you can specifically address supporters who complement your board with complementary profiles.

A skillfully selected advisory board can cover a large part of the open areas. Good solutions in finance, communication, HR, admin structuring and, last but not least, in questions of the further development of overall corporate governance in a rapidly growing company will pay off in terms of the stability and attractiveness of your company. 

Results 

The angels on a board will contribute regularly and proactively - they have taken on a responsibility towards the founders and also towards their co-investors. The advantage for you is that you can discuss important issues in a structured and regular manner - and thus "automatically" receive important suggestions and contacts on a regular basis and not just on demand. From our experience: we usually go home from advisory board meetings with a "to do list" of how we can specifically help the start-ups we support.