Advisors Are Evolving — Your Program Should Too
The old model of a “startup advisor” hasn’t aged well. In the early 2000s, founders had limited support — few accelerators, barely any playbooks, and a short list of people who’d “been there.”
Now? Founders are surrounded by resources. Tools. Funds. Experts. You name it. Simply trading 1% of your company for monthly coffee chats doesn’t cut it anymore.
Instead of seeing advisors as honorary roles, start treating them like real contributors — and reward them accordingly.
With the right approach, an advisor program can be one of your company’s most strategic assets.
Step 1: Define a Clear Equity Budget
Think of your advisor equity pool like your employee option pool — it deserves structure.
- Commit 1–1.5% of your fully diluted equity.
- Use tiered allocations based on expected involvement (e.g., Gold = 0.25%, Silver = 0.05%, Bronze = 0.01%).
- This approach simplifies onboarding, keeps you within budget, and helps signal expectations.
Step 2: Set Up the Program Infrastructure
- Grant type: Most advisors receive common stock (either via NSOs or RSAs). Consult your legal team to choose the right format.
- Vesting terms: 2–3 years is the sweet spot. It’s long enough to encourage engagement, short enough to be practical.
- Agreement: Use a lightweight, flexible agreement (like the FAST Agreement or Asoka.App’s built-in templates). Include mutual termination language so either side can exit easily.
- Share count tip: Starting with a 10 million share cap table? Consider a 10:1 split to get to 100 million. It adds precision to your equity math and gives psychological weight to grants (“5,000 shares” sounds better than “500”).
Step 3: Find the Right People
Think beyond typical “advisors.” Look for:
- Subject matter experts
- Influential customers
- Content creators in your space
- Former employees
- Channel partners
The best advisors come from real interactions. When someone helps you or shows genuine enthusiasm, that’s your cue. Here’s a sample outreach:
“Really appreciated our conversation earlier. I run a small advisory group made up of people I admire — some are users, others are experts in our space. It’s informal: I send a monthly update with a few asks and optional ways to contribute. I’d love to include you and offer a small equity grant as thanks. Can I send over an invite?”
Also, empower your leadership team to build their own advisor networks. It’s a powerful way to scale reach — and a great perk for execs.
Step 4: Keep Advisors Active and Aligned
Advisors won’t act unless you ask. Engagement is everything.
- Send consistent updates. Format and cadence matter. Pick one and stick with it.
- Make it easy to help. Pre-draft social posts. Provide intros. Give clear instructions. Remove friction.
- Segment your asks. Group advisors by expertise, industry, or location — and route asks only to those most likely to act.
- Ask in real time. Don’t save everything for your next update. When an opportunity comes up, send the ask.
- Track impact. If someone consistently doesn’t contribute, thank them and move on. That’s why the agreement should be easy to end.
Asoka.App Makes It All Simple
Managing advisors manually is a pain. Asoka.App makes it seamless.
Use it to:
- Send and sign advisor agreements
- Create structured advisor tiers
- Maintain a searchable directory of contributors
- Trigger and route asks based on advisor profiles
- Deliver tailored updates at scale
- Track and cross-reference advisor networks for intros and influence
Whether you’re just starting or revamping an existing program, Asoka.App helps you turn advisor equity into an engine for growth.
👉 Get started for free at Asoka.App
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