Ethan Mayers

Entrepreneur | Technologist | Mentor | Innovator | Author
We are all shepherds of our businesses, our lives and our relationships.

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

I get asked all the time: "Do I need an advisor for my startup?"

No one needs anything.

Ok, that's not helpful.

The teams that need them most benefit least. The teams that need them least benefit most. Great advisors accelerate great teams. They rarely rescue weak ones.

There are plenty of bad reasons to get one. The most common: you think it'll look good to investors. It won't. Investors don't read your advisor slide to learn about your advisors. They read it to learn about you.

So the question isn't "Who should be my advisor?"

It's "How will this person increase my enterprise value?"

I use four criteria:

Customers. They open doors to buyers, partners, or distribution channels you couldn't reach on your own. This is the big one.

Expertise. They fill a gap on your team. Short-term hole? Pay someone. A year or more? Advisor.

Funding.  Nothing like a warm intro. Thesis-aligned angels and institutionals investors can be worth gold.

Credibility. Not with investors, we don't care. With customers. If social proof closes deals, and you have a plan for it, this works.

One practical note: use the Founder Advisor Standard Template (FAST). Modify away.

And know this going in: every advisor has an expiration date. FAST handles it with vesting, but build in a sunset. The advisor who's right at pre-seed is rarely right at the next stage.

Don't be sentimental about it.

The kindest thing you can do for someone who helped you at a critical moment isn't to carry them past their expiration date.

It's to make their equity worth something.

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

https://t.co/hhR5n95DSL

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

There is no one future of entrepreneurship.

The fundamentals haven't changed: Solve a problem. That people care about. At a cost less than they're willing to pay.

Everything else is negotiable.

How you find customers. How you build. How you get funded. Who does the work. How ownership is structured. How value is returned.

These have always been moving targets. The mistake is assuming the current model is the final model. Or that there is even one model at all.

The future of entrepreneurship will be like its past: Many paths. Many models. Many outcomes.

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

Sunday thought: the monoculture of venture-backed unicorn logic is diversifying into multiple capital forms optimized for different types of outcomes.

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

@MillyTamati @butter_hq @EceKurtaraner I'd focus on his to maximize cross sector expertise and using your generalist skills to build a portfolio career

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

Honored to share my new project https://t.co/N8HGbzcHQ4 on the podcast Leaders Who Care with the amazing team at 5th Element Group PBC and host @MarkSadovnick https://t.co/Nyv2uXDGBu

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

Being dishonest alienates people who have supported you. Companies need to learn to treat their customers like colleagues, not widgets. @RobinhoodApp

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

@RobinhoodApp what not to during a crisis - issue an apology where you mock your own mission (opening investment to all) simply to spin the fact you desperately need cash. Being honest wins allies and champions. https://t.co/mvimSDowI3

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

The most impactful use of technology is to improve the human condition.

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

https://t.co/KKFVKP3XpD is happening right now. It's a free event where all speakers and organizers are helping you find more optimism in your life.

Hear from astronauts, adventurers, innovators, aerialists, and so many more.

https://t.co/IiirCBqGYa
https://t.co/VQhJ1FwlzX

[ChalkNotes @ChalkNotesapp]

Send a message of kindness + love. #chalkart #nyc #chalknotes

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

my latest article: changing my Facebook status from 'in a relationship' to 'it's complicated'. we all need to focus on positive social health
https://t.co/qyrYMYeEwL

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

EPitch Elevator Ep. 9 is released featuring @aiconciergebot. Go behind the closed door of a pitch coach session! Visit Apple, Spotify, or our web site https://t.co/xpCShVtjIy to listen. #podcast #spotify #podcasting #podcasts #audio #startup #pitch #technology #entrepreneur

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

I am so excited to announce the launch of the Pitch Elevator podcast I produced, a series that goes inside the world of elevator pitch coaching. To subscribe and listen for free, visit Apple, Spotify, or our web site https://t.co/xpCShVtjIy.

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

1400s - Guttenberg Press, once in a lifetime globe transforming tech, adoption measured in decades
2020s - 9 simultaneous globe transforming tech with more coming on line ever few years, adoption measured in months #movetoabundance #UnitedNations #xprize #sdgmoonshots

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

Scarcity based business models are transforming and some are disappearing #transitions #Xprize #future #SDGs #UnitedNations

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

Drone technology is doubling every 9 months #xprize #innovation #SDGs

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

We now have a prototype of a machine that can extract 2,000 liters of water of out the atmosphere at $0.02 per litre in any place on earth outside a desert - Xprize #sdgmoonshots

[Ethan Mayers @agileshepherd]

Saturday morning at the United Nations #sdgmoonshots