For early-stage founders

Product & design advisor

Being founder and managing product is hard. Your schedule is probably too crowded, but you still want to build useful and nice product. Advisor will not do the job for you or create magic. But it's a good to have reliable partner with outside perspective.

Founders often ask me

How to build design-led company?
I'm embarrassed of public launch.
How to "marry" designers and developers?
How to standout in in modern scene?
How to use design as unfair advantage?
How to find and hire first designer?

My output

01. I will assess your product from personal perspective as an expert
02. I will be critical about every step of the onboarding flow
03. I will mention every potential user frustration
04. I will screenshot every piece of product I hate
05. I will suggest solutions to those frustrations and sketch a solution
06. I will predict the conversion and metrics based on my experience
07. I will call you every week to sync on your progress and to give feedback
08. I will be your super-user and will be user's voice scream
09. I will refer vetted professionals, services, developers to help you
10. I will join your weekly demos and read all weekly/monthly updates
11. I will provide feedback on your pitch decks and your go-to-market

Compensation

→ Cash and/or Equity
→ 2 year, monthly vesting, no cliff (sorry), termination at any time
→ risk free: 100% refund of last month, if you don't like it

Getting most out of me

I can't read your mind, but I can ask questions. You should be demanding and ask for more, than you used to. I will honestly say what I can do and what I can't. I'm comfortable saying NO, as well as saying YES, I'LL TRY. Your proactivity is crucial. I want you to abuse my mind. That's how I feel I earned it.

What byproducts you can expect?

Credibility → I have voice in the industry and people might give you money or advice easier, when they see me in your list of advisors.
Connections
→ I know thousands of people. Just tell me who you need.
Dirty Hands
→ I rarely might design something, participate in brainstorm or do some research. You can always ask, without hard expectations.
Team coaching
→ I can talk with leaders and stakeholders in product and design to unblock them or invite someone to give a talk on a given topic or case study.
Advisors are not here to build startups for you, but to help you build faster. Consider me as "forward arrows" in Mario Kart.

When advisory will end?

One day you will outgrow my expertise. Or you will feel like I'm slowing you down. Or you will feel like we're not vibing. On that day — you end it.

Useful references to hire advisors

https://review.firstround.com/Get-the-Most-Out-of-Your-Startups-Advisors-with-These-7-Tactics
https://fi.co/fast
https://www.hubspot.com/startups/startup-advisor-agreement-template
https://carta.com/blog/advisor-advisory-shares/
https://underscore.vc/startupsecrets/blind-reference-checks/
https://carta.com/blog/advisor-advisory-shares/#give