How to engage with advisors to grow your start-up

Takeaways from our session with Monce C Abraham and Renu Shah

Covid-19 has changed the game for entrepreneurs. We saw some businesses folding up while some sectors witnessed an unprecedented growth. What does this new environment mean for businesses? How can they navigate through its challenges and opportunities? And what crucial role are advisors playing in decoding the “next normal”?

We spoke to Monce C Abraham, Director, THEV Consulting and Renu Shah, Founder, Shakti – The Empathy Project (STEP) as they shared their insights from years of advising growth strategies for entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Here are the key takeaways:

Focus more on the opportunities than the challenges of the pandemic

• While some industries have seen a definitive decline since the outbreak of Covid-19, many have boomed, such as online medicine and retail. It’s a good time to take a pause and re-invent your business model by exploring the ways in which the pandemic has changed the landscape.

Advisors can help you retain the bird’s-eye view

• The uncertainty of the pandemic has made many entrepreneurs question the sustainability of their business models. An experienced advisor can help ask the right questions as one navigates through these times while also going beyond functional issues to throw light on areas that a business might not be looking at, such as a market statistic, changing policies, new technologies etc.

Watch the entire conversation below.

Reach out to multiple people

• Partnering with varied qualified individuals and organizations brings in different value additions to a business. And it is important to vet several choices to find the right fit. Make sure that the vetting process is thorough to avoid any conflict of interest in terms of other businesses that the individual or organization may already be advising.

Look out for networks – incubators, accelerators, advisory consultants

• We live in a hyper-connected world and India has a very strong start-up network. Find consultants who are working in the space and are connected with varied individuals who bring in different skills and expertise. A consultant who works with start-up advisors can speak with you to find the right fit for your present needs.

There are multiple ways to engage with advisors

• Retainership, commission, success fees, sweat equity, or a combination of these – choose the right model for your advisory needs. These can be further adapted to your business. Advisory consultants can help you identify what kind of engagement would work best for your team and business.

Start Early

• It often helps to find an advisor right at the earliest stages so you can mitigate the risks. Advisors can help you avoid mistakes that they may have already made. And help you create a stronger foundation.

The Outstanding Speakers’ Bureau has a strong network of advisors who offer valuable insights to start-ups, in area such as capital raising & funding, talent management, business management, creating partnerships, technical know-how, digital transformation, go-to-market, public policy, operations & scaling up etc. Talk to our team to find the right advisor for your business.

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