Hicks: Building advisory board pre-revenue was smartest Flexpay decision
Darryl Hicks · How to Build a Board of Advisors | Darryl Hicks, Founder of Flexpay · PMF Show · Jun 15, 2022 · at 20:29
Darryl Hicks, founder of Flexpay, discusses his strategy for recruiting startup advisors with host Pablo Srugo.
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“Smartest thing I ever did in Flex Bay was building an advisory board before I even had a dollar of revenue.”
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Hicks: Engage startup advisors on demand rather than on recurring cadences
“And every single one of my advisors, this is key, said, I can do this, but I cannot commit to like monthly meetings or quarterly meetings or anything like that. Like call me anytime, email me anytime, ad hoc, you're stuck. Great. I know a lot of people, and Da…”
Hicks: Advisory boards should provide strategy and connections, not operational execution
“And then how you interact with these people is really around three things. It's conversations, strategy, and connections. So conversations, not action. Strategy, not execution. And connections is really the biggest part, right? What do you need to do and who d…”
Hicks: Flexpay added an advisor purely for network and brand credibility
“One of the people that I added onto my board was kind of purely for that reason. Really the only value I knew this person was going to bring was their connections. How many people they know and how many people know them. And just to be able to go around and sa…”
Hicks: Recruiting active operators as advisors simplifies vetting for depth
“If I put that filter of saying, I'm only going to work with people that are actually working and building their own business and really moving the needle in a significant way and what they are doing day to day in their own job. I kind of don't need to worry as…”
Hicks: Never ask prospective advisors to join on the first call
“The first conversation, when you reach out to these people, you're never asking them to be on the advisory board. That's almost a surefire way to have a blow up in your face.”
Hicks used Dan Martell's own framework to recruit Martell as an advisor
“Actually, one of my advisors and mentors and friends, Dan Martell, walked me through a framework of how to build a world-class advisory board, which I then used that framework to get him on my advisory board, which is a fun little hack.”