advisors and mentors - the role and how to find them
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Basics of What and Who an Advisor is and the role they play in an OrganizationTRANSCRIPT
Vijay Anand, RTBI, IIT Madras
Twitter: vijayanands
Entrepreneur. Founder (Proto.in). Currently with RTBI
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Key Stages of a Company.
Every Stage requires certain niche skills to bring it to scale
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Being an Entrepreneur.
Being an Entrepreneur/CEO is a lonely path.
Its both a lifestyle and a professional choice.
Can only afford to be great in few skills – not mediocre in all.
Has the challenge in working with people s(he) can envision the company with.
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
The Biggest Mistake.
The two people you need to stay away from (as a startup) are MBAs and Consultants – Guy Kawasaki.
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
The Coach.
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Terminologies
Common Mistake to Grade them all together.
Mentor/Coach – grow acumen (personal)
Advisor – guide/strategic thinking Consultant – hands-on deliverables Directors/Stakeholders –
monitoring/wealth creation
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Relevance.
Lots of Examples:32 Million SMEs in the Country.Founders Syndrome kicks in as company
expands.The Need to evolve in thinking – detached
perspective.Spurt vs Sustained Innovation/Growth
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
How to Engage an Advisor Rule: The First four hours are free. Dedicate a specific timeslot in regular
intervals to update, and get feedback. Get him/her involved – compensate. Chemistry is very important – trust. The Ability to think in the same lines, but
in different wavelengths. Longterm: Look at some equity – 1-2%
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
What Could Go Wrong
Lack of Time and cant keep commitment.
Closed Minded Advisor. The falling off of trust – Cant take the
NO of an Advisor with trust. Motives and Intentions Change Execution of the Company doesn’t span
out.
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Where to Start?
Start with Clarity on the past. The vision, the Product, the Market, the Goal.
Look into your own networks to see if you find someone whom you admire, and is a few steps ahead of you.
Tap into networks like TiE, NASSCOM etc.
Linkedin?
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Summary
A partner in Visioning/strategy To extend Networks beyond what you
have. The Ability to bring a disjoint opinion and
perpective of an idea/strategy Two heads are better than one. The right advisors can increase the
board valuation for an entity.
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Organization Viewpoint
The Advisor doesn’t “Report” to the entrepreneur. But works with the Entrepreneur.
VIJAYANANDwww.twitter.com/vijayanands
Summary
Bold Statement:Advisors are probably the only people that
you should consult for strategic level thinking. For the very simple reason that there is accountability.
I’m also on Twitter @vijayanands