The Secret to Building a Strong Startup Advisory Board

Every founder has blind spots. It doesn’t matter how talented, experienced, or driven you are—there are gaps in your knowledge, perspective, and network. That’s where a strong advisory board comes in.

The best founders see advisory boards as an extension of the team, a group of people who can accelerate growth, open doors, and keep them from making costly mistakes. Yet too many startups treat the advisory board as an afterthought. They pull together names for credibility but never actually leverage the group.

Here’s the truth: a strong advisory board can be a startup’s major advantage. But only if it’s built intentionally.

What Makes an Advisory Board Valuable?
An advisory board is not a board of directors. Advisors don’t govern, and they don’t have fiduciary responsibility. That means you can shape the relationship in a way that works for your startup. The best advisory boards provide three things:

1. Expertise you don’t have.
   
2. Access to networks you can’t reach on your own.
   
3. Perspective when you’re too close to the problem.
   

If your advisors aren’t providing at least one of these, you may have the wrong people in the room.

How to Choose the Right Advisors
Founders often chase big names for their advisory boards. It feels good to say that a well-known investor or CEO is advising your startup. But the name doesn’t matter if they don’t show up for you. The best advisors are the ones who pick up the phone, make introductions, and give you honest feedback.

Look for people who fill gaps. If you’re a technical founder, find advisors who understand go-to-market, business and sales. If you’re a sales-driven founder, find advisors with product depth. Think about the next 12-18 months of your roadmap and ask: who can help me get there faster?

Compensation and Structure
Advisory roles should be formalized, even if they’re part-time. Most advisors are compensated in equity, usually a fraction of a percent, vested over one to two years. That structure makes sure both sides are invested without putting too much strain on your cap table.

Clarity is key. Define expectations up front:

• How often will we meet?
  
• What specific areas will you advise on?
  
• What outcomes should we expect?
  

The more specific you are, the more value you’ll get.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Advisors
Be specific. If you bring them vague problems, you’ll get vague answers. The founders who benefit the most are the ones who come prepared. Send an agenda before meetings. Share updates on progress and challenges. Ask for introductions to specific companies or investors, not just “help with networking.”

Treat your advisory board like a team, not a trophy. Give them context, make them feel included, and show them that their advice actually impacts the business. Nothing motivates an advisor more than seeing their contribution make a difference.

When to Build an Advisory Board
Don’t wait until you’re in crisis mode. The best time to start building your advisory board is before raising your first outside capital and preparing for growth. Early-stage advisors can make the difference between a startup that stalls and one that takes off.

If you’re pre-revenue, start with 1-2 advisors you trust. As you scale, expand. A mature startup might have 5-7 advisors with different areas of expertise. Beyond that, it becomes unwieldy.

Red Flags to Avoid
Not all advisors are created equal. Be cautious of anyone who asks for equity upfront without proving value. Avoid advisors who are spread too thin—they won’t prioritize your startup. And watch out for “advisors” who are really just angling for a consulting gig.

Your advisors should be aligned with your mission, excited about your vision, and genuinely invested in your success.

Final Thought
The secret to building a strong advisory board isn’t rocket science. It’s about intention, clarity, and trust. Surround yourself with people who complement your strengths, challenge your thinking, and open doors you can’t open yourself.

A strong advisory board doesn’t guarantee success—but it makes the path less bumpy. 

Let’s not overcomplicate it—people don’t invest in spreadsheets. They invest in people, in vision, in conviction.

If you’re a founder, storytelling isn’t a “nice-to-have” skill. It’s the foundation of your entire pitch.

Your story is your strategy. In the earliest stages of a startup, it might be your most valuable asset.

1. Start With “Why?”

Every great startup story answers one critical question: Why now?

 .. followed by: Why you?

What’s changed in the world that makes your solution necessary today? It could be a technological shift, a regulatory change, a generational behavior swing, or a broken status quo that’s finally untenable.

If you can’t explain why this moment is ripe for your startup, the rest of your pitch will fall flat.

“Even the best recipe is worthless without the right chef.”

You can have the perfect ingredients, timed perfectly with market trends and demand—but if the person behind it doesn’t know how to mix, adapt, or deliver it under pressure, it flops. Startups aren’t just about having the right idea at the right time. They’re about having you at the right time. Your unique insight, background, resilience, obsession—that’s what transforms a good idea into a company that wins.

2. Make the Customer the Hero

Your product isn’t the hero—your customer is. Your story should show how their life is hard or incomplete, and how your solution helps them overcome that pain or reach that goal.

This flips the narrative from “let me tell you what I built” to “let me show you why it matters.”

3. Structure Matters—Use the Classic Arc

Your pitch is a short film. So tell it like one.

Hook: Grab their attention in the first 30 seconds. A stat, a story, a provocative statement.

Problem: Describe the pain vividly. Make it feel real.

Solution: Your product/service—how it solves the problem.

Traction: What is your business model? Show signs that it’s working, or how you plan to reach (and convert) customers.

Vision: Where it’s going. How big is the market? Who are the visionaries behind the vision?

Ask: What you want and why now’s the time.

It’s simple, repeatable, and it works.

4. Numbers Are Proof, Not the Plot

Your metrics matter—but they’re not the story. They’re the evidence that backs it up.

Don’t overwhelm people with dashboards. Instead, use a few compelling, well-placed numbers that show growth, usage, retention, or market opportunity. Investors want to believe you know your numbers and what they mean.

5. Show Your Unique Insight

Every successful founder has a “secret”—an earned truth they discovered from being obsessed with the space.

Maybe it’s something customers told you in 50 interviews. Maybe it’s how your team solved a problem that everyone else ignored. That unique insight is a signal. It says, “We’re not just another startup. We know something others don’t.”

6. Practice Until It’s Natural

The best storytellers aren’t winging it. They’ve said it 100 times, buit feels natural because they know it cold.

Rehearse.Rehearse. Rehearse. Just like any other muscle, the pitch muscle takes repetitions to build strength. In front of friends. In front of teammates. Record yourself. Find the parts that don’t flow. Tweak. Repeat.

Don’t just memorize lines—understand your story deeply enough that you can adapt it in any room.

7. Tailor the Story to the Audience

A customer wants to know how it solves their problem. An investor wants to know how you win the market. A journalist wants to know what makes this new or important.

Same story. Different angles. Know the difference.

8. Be Honest—It Builds Trust

You don’t need to pretend everything is perfect. The best stories include moments of friction, pivots, mistakes. They show learning and that builds trust.

A good investor or customer isn’t looking for perfection. They’re looking for clarity, commitment, fit, and coachability.

The Real Takeaway:

Your story is not your deck. It’s how people feel after they talk to you. It’s what they tell someone else when they try to describe what you do.

That means your job is to make it easy to remember and hard to forget.

So next time you write your pitch, ask:

• Am I telling a clear story, not just presenting information?
• Does my story make my customer the hero?
• Am I backing it with real traction and insight?
• Is the tone honest, human, and hopeful?

The startups that win don’t just build. They obsess & they believe—and help others believe too.

Building a startup is often described as a rollercoaster—and for good reason. There are days when you feel invincible, like everything’s clicking into place. And then there are days when you wonder if it’s even worth it.

It’s not a weakness. It’s the weight of leadership.

And that emotional weight? If it goes unmanaged, it leads to founder burnout—something far more common than most are willing to admit.

Mental health isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s foundational. Without it, your creativity, decision-making, and relationships suffer. So let’s talk honestly about the real toll startup life can take—and what you can actually do about it.

Why Founders Burn Out

Let’s break it down:

• Constant pressure to perform
• Uncertainty about the future
• Financial stress
• Isolation and loneliness
• The inability to “shut it off”

These aren’t occasional headaches. They’re chronic, compounding stressors. And they don’t resolve on their own.

But the goal isn’t to remove pressure—it’s to build systems that help you carry it.

Here are real, practical strategies that have helped startup founders (myself included) shift from burnout to breakthrough.

1. Build Your Schedule Around Energy, Not Just Tasks

When everything feels urgent, it’s easy to pack your calendar with back-to-back meetings and 14-hour workdays. But that’s a fast track to exhaustion.

Example:
One founder I know blocks 8–10am daily for “deep work”—no meetings, no Slack, no noise. They also end their day with a non-negotiable 5:00pm “shutdown routine”: review tomorrow’s schedule, note top priorities, and close the laptop.

Try this:

• Use time-blocking to guard your focus.
• Identify your high-energy windows and reserve them for creative or strategic work.
• Create hard stops in your day—even if it’s just 30 minutes of nothing.

2. Get Out of the Bubble (Seriously, Leave the House)

Working from home (or a coworking space you never leave) makes it easy to drift into isolation. Without external input, your internal stress spirals.

Example:
A founder in our ecosystem started joining a weekly pickup basketball game—not for networking, just to sweat and reset. It became their weekly anchor, unrelated to KPIs or product timelines. The mental clarity it gave them? Game-changing.

Try this:

• Join a non-business group (sports, book club, volunteer work).
• Work one day a week from a new location (library, park, cafe).
• Schedule regular phone calls or lunch with founder friends—no pitching allowed.

3. Start Founder Therapy or Coaching (Before You Think You “Need” It)

There’s still a stigma around therapy, especially in founder circles where we’re expected to have answers. But you don’t have to wait until you’re in a crisis.

Example:
I know a founder who sees a therapist twice a month and a business coach once a month. The therapist helps them navigate anxiety, while the coach keeps them focused on growth goals. Together, they form a pressure-release valve that’s kept them in the game long-term.

Try this:

• Look for founder-focused mental health resources (ex: BetterHelp, Founders First).
• Find a peer group or support circle for entrepreneurs.
• Schedule regular “mental health check-ins” the same way you’d check financials.

4. Audit Your Notifications and Set Boundaries

Your phone is not your boss. Slack, email, texts—they’ll take as much of your attention as you allow.

Example:
A SaaS founder I interviewed has a “no notifications” phone setting from 8pm–8am. Their team knows to call if it’s a real emergency. The result? Better sleep, more presence at home, and sharper thinking during the day.

Try this:

• Turn off all non-essential notifications.
• Set communication boundaries with your team (and stick to them).
• Block a “no meetings” day each week to focus and breathe.

5. Make Your Mental Health a Line Item

If it’s not in the budget or your calendar, it won’t happen. Founders love to optimize for growth, but rarely apply that same discipline to personal sustainability.

Example:
Some founders budget monthly for wellness: therapy, coaching, gym memberships, even digital detox getaways. One founder I worked with gives their team a $100/month “mental health stipend” to model that it’s not only allowed, it’s encouraged.

Try this:

• Allocate a budget for personal well-being (and encourage your team to do the same).
• Schedule quarterly “founder days” to reset and reflect.
• Treat your mental health practices like meetings—with the same level of importance.

6. Reframe Rest as a Strategic Tool

There’s a toxic myth in startup culture that rest = laziness. But the truth is, rest is where your subconscious solves problems and renews clarity.

Example:
A founder I follow takes every seventh week fully off—no email, no Slack, no check-ins. Their team plans around it. They say their biggest product insights and strategic shifts always come during that downtime.

Try this:

• Plan regular breaks—even half-days off to recharge.
• Use weekends to do something completely unrelated to your business.
• Embrace rest not as a reward, but as fuel.

Final Thought: You Can’t Scale What’s Burned Out

Your company depends on you, but more than that—you depend on you.

Mental health isn’t a luxury. It’s not a “someday” item. It’s the foundation beneath every pitch, hire, and pivot.

So here’s the permission you don’t need but might be waiting for:
You’re allowed to rest. You’re allowed to ask for help. And you’re allowed to build something incredible without destroying yourself in the process.

Breakthroughs come when you stop pretending you’re invincible—and start building like someone who wants to do this for the long haul.

What is a Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy?

A go-to-market strategy is your startup’s plan to introduce a product or service to the right audience with the right message at the right time. It’s about more than just launching—it’s about building traction, growing awareness, and creating a repeatable path to revenue.

Think of it like this: a GTM strategy helps you avoid shouting into the void. It’s a framework for getting in front of the people who actually care, in a way that actually works.

Whether you’re entering a new market, releasing a new product, or repositioning an old one—your GTM plan is how you bring it all together.

Why You Need a GTM Strategy

The #1 mistake we see early-stage founders make? Building something cool… and assuming people will just show up.

They don’t. A GTM strategy saves you from:

• Wasted budget on the wrong channels
• Talking to the wrong audience
• Confusion inside your team
• Launching before you’re ready

It forces clarity. It answers:

• Who are we serving?
• Why do they care?
• How will they hear about us?
• What will they do next?

Key Elements of a Go-To-Market Strategy

You don’t need a 50-page slide deck. Just cover these essentials clearly and honestly:

1. Target Customers

Who are you building this for—really? Define your ICP (ideal customer profile) as specifically as you can. If you say “anyone,” your strategy’s already off track.

2. Value Proposition

Why does this matter to them? What pain are you solving? What’s your “so what?”

If you can’t say this in one sentence without jargon, go back to the whiteboard.

3. Messaging

Once you’ve nailed the value prop, translate it into messaging that resonates. This isn’t just taglines—it’s how you talk across your site, pitch deck, emails, ads, and demo.

4. Channel Strategy

Where will you find your customers, and how will you reach them?

Your choices might include:

• Organic content
• Paid ads
• Cold outreach
• Partnerships
• SEO
• Events

Choose a few—test, then double down on what works.

5. Customer Journey & Activation

Map out the steps from “I’ve never heard of you” to “I’m a happy customer.” Where are the drop-offs? What do you need to improve or automate?

6. Pricing & Offers

How will you package and price the product? What’s the first thing you’ll ask someone to buy—or try? It should feel low-friction and high-value.

7. Metrics That Matter

Track the right things—not just traffic or impressions, but:

• Conversion rate
• CAC (customer acquisition cost)
• LTV (lifetime value)
• Retention
• Activation rate

8. Number of Qualified Leads

This one deserves its own line:

If your top-of-funnel is full of the wrong people, it doesn’t matter how clever the rest of your strategy is.

Make sure your early messaging and targeting are attracting the right prospects. If you’re not getting qualified leads, revisit everything upstream.

Final Thought: Your GTM Strategy is a Living Thing

This isn’t a “set it and forget it” document. Your GTM evolves as you learn more, as the market shifts, and as your product grows.

The goal is simple: put something structured in place, run experiments, measure results, and keep improving. The sooner you find a repeatable motion that works, the sooner you’ll build momentum.

Nevada’s startup scene in 2025 looks a lot different than it did just a few years ago — and in the best way possible. What was once a modest, under-the-radar community has steadily transformed into one of the country’s most interesting emerging markets for early-stage companies. Founders are solving real problems, new investment vehicles are fueling growth, and policy changes are making it easier for Nevadans to invest in their own backyard.

What makes this ecosystem different is the people. It’s the founders building in industries where others hesitate, the leaders advocating for the startup community at the state level, and the organizations quietly laying the groundwork to make Nevada a legit place to launch and scale a company.

Here’s a look at the people, trends, and opportunities defining Nevada’s startup ecosystem in 2025.

The People Moving the Needle
The growth of Nevada’s startup community is driven by a handful of leaders who’ve been quietly (and sometimes loudly) putting in the work for years. These folks aren’t just making headlines — they’re building companies, infrastructure, and opportunity for others.

Jeff Saling — Co-Founder & Executive Director, StartUpNV
Jeff has been at the center of Nevada’s startup ecosystem for years. Through StartUpNV, he’s created a statewide network of incubators, accelerators, and venture funds designed to support Nevada founders at every stage. With over 1,000 companies in their network and more than $77 million in capital facilitated, Jeff’s work is a big reason Nevada has a startup ecosystem worth paying attention to in 2025. He was also instrumental in the passing of Assembly Bill 75, which created the Nevada Certified Investor category — a legislative change enabling more Nevadans to invest locally.

Piotr Tomasik — Founder, TensorWave
In the AI infrastructure race, most startups run to Nvidia. Piotr Tomasik is building an alternative. His company, TensorWave, is a Reno-based cloud provider specializing in AI workloads via AMD Instinct GPUs. Beyond compute access, TensorWave’s enterprise inference platform, Manifest, offers private, secure storage and supports larger context windows for AI applications. It’s a Nevada-grown company with global ambitions, and another sign that cutting-edge tech isn’t limited to the coasts.

Maryssa Barron — Founder, BuildQ
Maryssa Barron is bringing long-overdue innovation to the construction industry. Her startup, BuildQ, helps contractors manage workflows and projects with modern software tailored for the unique challenges of the trades. This year, she took home the top prize at AngelNV 2025, Nevada’s largest startup pitch competition. It’s a big win not just for Maryssa, but for female founders and vertical SaaS startups in Nevada.

Cisco Aguilar — Nevada Secretary of State
A champion for Nevada’s startup and business communities, Cisco Aguilar’s office has actively supported initiatives to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem. His advocacy alongside leaders like Jeff Saling helped push through Assembly Bill 75, creating a more accessible path for Nevada residents to invest in startups through the Nevada Certified Investor designation. Cisco’s commitment to economic development makes him a vital player in fostering the state’s innovation economy.

Juston Berg — VP of Entrepreneurial Development, EDAWN
In Northern Nevada, Juston Berg is one of the most active supporters of early-stage founders. Through his role at EDAWN (Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada), Juston works to attract, retain, and grow startups in the Reno-Tahoe region. A software engineer and blockchain entrepreneur by background, Juston leads programs like Reno Startup Week and helps founders navigate everything from customer acquisition to venture fundraising.

Ecosystem Trends Shaping 2025

A lot has changed in Nevada’s startup environment over the last year. Here’s what’s making the biggest impact:

Certified Investor Legislation is Paying Off
When Assembly Bill 75 passed in 2023, it quietly unlocked a major opportunity for Nevada’s startup ecosystem. The bill created a new “Nevada Certified Investor” designation, allowing state residents with a certain income or net worth threshold to invest in local startups without the typical SEC accredited investor requirements. The result? More capital staying in Nevada, and a faster path to raising seed rounds for founders.

AI Infrastructure and Workloads Find a New Home
Companies like TensorWave are leading a broader movement to build AI infrastructure outside of Silicon Valley. Reno’s affordable energy, growing tech talent pool, and proximity to major West Coast markets make it an ideal hub for AI compute, model training, and enterprise inference tools. Expect more companies to follow Piotr Tomasik’s lead in the next 12–24 months.

Niche SaaS and Vertical Tech Are Having a Moment
Startups like BuildQ and others in Nevada are capitalizing on underserved vertical markets — industries where digital transformation has been slow. Construction, logistics, hospitality, and energy are ripe for disruption, and founders here are stepping in to solve problems with purpose-built, founder-led software.

Opportunities on the Horizon

For founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders looking to plug into Nevada’s startup community, 2025 presents some real opportunities:

Early-stage capital is more accessible than ever — with programs like FundNV, AngelNV, and the 1864 Fund actively deploying money into Nevada startups, and new Certified Investors entering the market thanks to AB75.

AI and cloud infrastructure are Nevada’s next big sectors — as more AI workloads move to alternative infrastructure providers like TensorWave, and as state universities expand AI research programs, there’s a clear opportunity to carve out a niche in this rapidly growing category.

The construction, energy, and hospitality industries are begging for innovation — startups like BuildQ prove there’s a market for tools that make traditional businesses run better. Expect to see more niche SaaS companies popping up across Nevada in the next couple of years.

Community events and accelerators are scaling up — with Reno Startup Week, Las Vegas Startup Weekend, and new founder education programs from StartUpNV, it’s never been easier to connect with other founders, investors, and mentors.

Closing Thought

Nevada isn’t trying to be the next Silicon Valley — and that’s exactly why it’s working. Founders here are solving real problems, building sustainable businesses, and creating opportunities for others along the way. The people listed here are just a few of the names driving that momentum in 2025.

As capital access improves, AI infrastructure takes hold, and policy keeps pace with innovation, Nevada’s startup ecosystem is primed for its next big chapter. And the best part? It’s happening because of the founders, not despite them.