Startups with Mentors and Advisors Are More Successful
If you’re a startup that wants to improve your odds for success, my best piece of advice is…get some real advice.
From the Startup Genome Project (data collected from 650+ startups):
“Startups that have helpful mentors and advisors, track performance metrics effectively, and learn from startup thought leaders raise 7X more money and 3.5X better user growth.”
From Rev’s hands-on experience with our network of 130+ active advisors and nearly 50 experts, we’ve learned that entrepreneurs who surround themselves with good advisors and mentors outperform their peers.
In fact, in due diligence we seek out evidence that the entrepreneur knows how to find, engage, and leverage real advisors. In that context, what is a real advisor? It’s someone who asks the hard questions and holds you accountable as you grow your business.
An entrepreneur who has figured this out is an entrepreneur who has accepted the fact that he or she cannot do everything all the time themselves and is coachable—an “open sesame” indicator for angels and other potential investors.
Advice that entrepreneurs want and advice that entrepreneurs need
Not surprisingly, when asked what kind of advice they need, many entrepreneurs call out fundraising first. My answer to that is “yes”…but.
And here’s the “but.”
Four of the five “wants” on this list of desired advice have to do with sales and revenue. Those needs are spot on—and in our judgement earlier and higher priorities than fundraising.
The entrepreneur who accomplishes early adopters and bootstrapping sales needs a lot less guidance on raising capital. Investors are going to be naturally interested in business plan presentations from entrepreneurs who have the credibility and confidence that comes from early revenue and customers.
In 2015, Rev1 entrepreneurs used connections to generate more than 42 qualified sales opportunities.
Let us help you connect to market experts, to first customers, to technical resources that can supplement your intellectual property or help you develop your own.
It’s all about not squandering resources, especially time. Gaining advice from experienced advisors packs a double punch. Instead of wasting days and hours learning up or fixing mistakes, wise entrepreneurs can smooth the unknowns by taking expert advice which frees them up to better spend their time in areas they know.
