5 tips for maximizing time spent with potential advisors
5 tips for maximizing time spent with potential advisors
How to turn network intros into advisors for your business
DEAR STAGE 2: I am in the process of raising an A round and potential investors are offering intros to an incredible group of people — industry experts, sales and marketing leaders, potential advisors and experienced consultants. I feel like I’m learning something with each new conversation, but also realize I’m investing a disproportionate amount of time and effort following up on these intros. What’s the best way to maximize my time with this group? ~OVERWHELMED BY INTROS
DEAR OVERWHELMED BY INTROS: Well you’re certainly speaking our language. Stage 2 Capital’s thesis on GTM is all about surrounding yourselves with the right experts, at the right time, to help accelerate growth (and see around corners to avoid some of the common mistakes companies make). With this in mind, I am definitely one of the VCs offering these intros to prospective and current portfolio founders — “You should meet X”, “Y would be incredibly helpful” and “Z was the first head of marketing at [insert competitor]”.
We try to marry these intros with a healthy dose of practicality. We are very intentional about ensuring the connections we offer are relevant for a specific reason, and encourage founders to 1) be honest with us if we’ve missed the mark and 2) narrow down to only a few folks to engage regularly.
So now, let me put myself in your shoes and share 5 tips for maximizing these connections:
1. Be specific with your priorities: This plays out in 2 important ways. First, be thoughtful and intentional in communicating your priorities with both potential and current investors. Give us a task and we will run at it! For example “I am trying to speak with 3 other founders who have hired a COO” or “I am looking to learn what a great head of marketing looks like at my stage.” The clearer you are in your goals, the better the intros will be. Secondly, you have to be in the driver’s seat when you actually take the intro. Show up prepared for that call — bring specific questions and drive the agenda to make sure you are getting what you need and it’s not just a generic intro call learning about your business.
2. It’s OK to say “no”: It’s a-okay to decline intros! I have to keep reminding myself of this too. There are many great people out there in the world, but we don’t have time to meet them all. Have an email template (or a few!) queued up for when the offer/intro isn’t the right fit. Thank you to Amy Volas for the permission to say no politely “As much as I'd like to chat, I'm afraid I can't prioritize this right now” is a completely acceptable response.
3. Block time each week to learn: I am a huge fan of time blocking my calendar. You said you get value out of these calls, but you need to control the time investment. What is a reasonable amount of time to set aside? 30, 60, 90 minutes? Put a hold on your calendar and fill it as these intros come in. You might be booking out 2-3 weeks, but you have a great convo with a relevant person to look forward to in the future!
4. Maintain a record as you build your network: How are you tracking these intros? Most convos should have takeaways/learnings, but NOT a clear next step. Said differently, you shouldn’t have second or third calls or an ongoing relationship with everyone, BUT you want to keep that individual top-of-mind when the time is right. You need to think about a personal/network CRM. This can be as simple as a Google Sheet with a few columns to remind you who you talked to, key learnings, and what/when they might be helpful in the future.
Best practice? Send a quick thank you note and ask him/her if she’d be willing to stay in touch, and add them to your “CRM.” 9 months from now, when you are looking for an expert on [insert current challenge], you can flip back through your list, find the right person quickly and re-engage!
5. Spend more time with fewer people: Just like your sales funnel, these intros should lead to a whittle down effect. I would encourage you to take first calls with anyone who is relevant to your current priorities, but then narrow your focus and only spend recurring time or sign a few advisors to go deep with. We recommend short-term advisor agreements (ex: 6 months) because priorities shift regularly and the person who is critical to helping you today, may not be the right person for the next stage of growth. A shorter engagement allows you to renew and keep working together if you want, while removing the awkwardness and risk that comes if you decide to wind down the relationship. If you are interested in signing up an advisor, we’ve put together a template that makes it easy. Make a copy and make it your own here!
If you’re interested in hearing about some success stories, look no further than Stage 2 Capital Catalyst:
See how Adam Mavrikos (VP of Revenue Growth at Toast) was matched with a company last year and helped them triple ARR over the past 12 months
Check out how we’re pairing LP mentors and advisors with our new Catalyst cohort
This is a topic that I am passionate about — finding the right advisors at the right time is critical to learning faster. In fact, I’ve written on it extensively in the past. 2 blogs worth returning too if you want to dig deeper:
Until next week!