Where to find individuals with as large as possible network of well established relationships with C board executives of public ( ! ) companies?

The point of advising is to have fun but it's also to align with the upside of the business. So the things to consider / ensure are. - Are they venture backeable ... if they don't plan (or you don't see them being able to) raise venture capital, then being a formal advisor (with equity) won't matter. - Do you trust them. As an advisor, you're extended your brand and credibility to the team so you need to ensure they'll be good stewards of it. - Are they coacheable ... when you talk, do they listen and are open to the advice. Do they take action? As for compensation & commitment, here's what's normal. - 0.1-1% equity in the early stages .. usually over 2 years vesting monthly. - You make yourself available for 1-2 hour per month, and help throughout making introductions, reviewing documents,etc Personally, I think it's super important to ensure you tell what you won't be doing. Ex: I won't be accountable for a work product, as in - I'm not going to run your marketing / development team :) You never know what people expect, so it's best to discuss it upfront. Also, if you plan on doing formal advisory (for compensation) - it's ideal to get atleast 10+ companies to help out in that format to ever see a financial return ... your essentially acting much like a VC. So just understand, there's a very high likely hood that it won't go anywhere financially .. but it can be super rewarding. The key is that you enjoy spending time with the team and learning about their journey.

I think the premise of your question is wrong. The best way to recruit experts that are most likely to be helpful is not by building a Board of Directors. Being on a board has a tremendous set of responsibilities that most people aren't prepared to take-on initially. Furthermore, most early-stage investors believe that a working board is "overkill" for companies that haven't raised at least $1m in seed funding, so you might be exposing yourself to negative signal by actively building a board. Given that you live in SF, you probably have already experienced the tremendous spirit of helpfulness that exists throughout SF and the Valley. If you are able to get through to people you consider a potentially good mentor, you'll most always be able to get at least a 30 minute coffee. If there's strong personal chemistry between yourself and a mentor, they might be willing to formalize an advisory relationship where in exchange for equity, they might agree to do more work for you including making introductions. But I'd be very cautious about formalizing a board relationship with anyone at this early stage. I find LinkedIn and AngelList to be very powerful when combined. AngelList can be used to find people who are actively investing and advising, and LinkedIn is a better means of cold contact if you make your request contextually relevant. Happy to talk to you in a quick call to share more of what I've learned in recruiting great advisers and investors.

It’s pretty simple, your offering has a lot of issues for what and how you’re targeting - you product, money, it’s a “commodity” so why you, your money, your firm? - The big boys (public) have tremendous relationships with big, known, credible capital sources. - They’re sophisticated so they know your capital has to be roughly at the same costs as the many trusted avenues they currently have for capital - I mentioned “trusted” a few times as it’s KEY. Does the firm you represent have a well known brand or known trust elements? - They are public companies and risk adverse so the likelihood of them entertaining a cold call or cold email from an unknown capital source is very low. Why? All things being similar they’re much better off taking and announcing capital from a trusted branded bank or firm. - Trust: with all the capital scams out there triggered, especially online, they are likely also reacting to scam risk first. Unless you have a trusted product (brand, people, story etc) and a way to get in front of prospects in a trusted way (conferences v email) i think the odds are really tough the bigger the company. Perhaps your product offering fit smaller or growth stage companies who have less options and aren’t public facing where Capital brand is so important. B

Hi First of all, well done for successfully developing a product/business and gaining market traction! There are various 'models' that you can use to estimate how many shares/percentages your new partner should get. These include (a) his/her investment in time and/or money, (b) the current + potential value of the company, (c) the time and/or money that you as the original founder already put in and various other models. That said, at the end of the day, it's all about value and psychology (both side's feelings). Between the lines (of your question), it is easy to tell that you do not feel that a new partner should receive 50% of the business due to the time that you've already invested, and that is understandable. That said, you yourself understand that you do need an additional founder if you won't to grow the business without overworking yourself. Also, it is better to own (for example) 50% in a business worth $1,000,000, than 90% in a business worth $500,000. I am not saying that you should offer 50%, I'm merely stating that if the partner will increase the size/profitability of your business, your overall enrichment will be bigger - regardless of how many shares you give him/her. Bottom line: 1. It all really depends on how much value they are giving you (not only financial, sometimes even just moral support goes a long way). Some founder's 'should' get 5%, some should get 50% or more. 2. Ask the potential partner how much shares they want (before you name a number). 3. Have an open conversation with them in regards to each of your expectations. 4. Use a vesting (or preferably reverse vesting) mechanism - meaning that the founder receives his shares gradually, based on the time that goes by (during which he fulfills his obligations) and/or milestones reached. I've successfully helped over 300 entrepreneurs and would be happy to help you. After scheduling a call, be sure to please send me some background information so that I can prepare before - thus giving you maximum value for your money during the call itself. See the great reviews I got.

Generally speaking for early-stage companies with less than $1m in total funding, boards function on a very bare bones basis. They would convene *at most* 4 times a year (and 4 would be atypical) to pass resolutions that require board approval. I believe you were the same person who asked about recruiting board members. If you have questions that remain upon reviewing my two answers, happy to do a quick call to provide you further clarity.