Why joining a Start-Up Advisory Board is a smart career move

If you were truly rich and powerful in Renaissance Europe, you would be a patron of the arts.?

The Medici ruled Florence and Tuscany, and produced four popes.?

Catherine de Medici (known as the Serpent Queen) became Queen of France and her offspring occupied the thrones of France, Scotland and England.?

Known for their ruthlessness and penchant for poisoning, the Medicis also were great patrons of the arts.

They funded Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sandro Botticelli, and even sponsored the invention of the piano!

Supporting artists was a symbol of wealth and power, and also showed that you were not only a blood thirsty tyrant, but also valued beauty and human ingenuity.

A hand that could wield a sword and could also wear a velvet glove. How elegant.

The Digital Age equivalent is being a mentor to a brilliant start-up founder. The mogul builds their empire, ruthlessly fights the competition and establishes dominance.

Then out comes the velvet glove.

Richard Branson talks about the importance of mentoring young entrepreneurs in his books. Tory Burch, the billionaire founder of the eponymous label has the Tory Burch Foundation for female founders. The moment a Big Tech executive retires from their powerful job, they join a board of start-up.

For example, the former Chief Financial Officer of Netflix David Wells is now Chairman of Wise, a growing fintech company. You can hear my interview with him on the Tech for Non-Techies podcast: 93 Lessons from the Netflix C Suite.

Why do these people do this? It is not entirely charitable, because the start-up founders they advise aim to follow their mentors' footsteps and become moguls themselves.

The wealthy and powerful do it because it is interesting work, it can be lucrative, it exposes them to innovative ideas and clever people. Supporting ingenuity is also a far bigger status symbol than a Ferrari.

You do not have to be a billionaire or a 15th century baron to reap these benefits. You do not even need to poison anyone.

By joining the Advisory Board of a promising start-up, you can also learn new skills, expand your network and position yourself as a leader in your niche.

While this will not turn you into a Renaissance lord, if you do this successfully, you could use your Advisory Board experience to get to the top of the career ladder or create a successful business.

Joining the Advisory Board of a tech start-up is an especially useful step if you want to transition career from a traditional business manager to a Digital Leader.?

For example, if you work in banking and want to get into fintech, becoming an advisor to a fintech company could help get there.

Careers in venture capital are also notoriously difficult to break into, and joining start-up advisory boards is a useful step in the right direction. For those curious about entrepreneurship, helping a founder build a business can give you a front row seat, without the risk.

But, joining a great advisory board isn’t easy. The best start-ups have more demand for their advisory board seats than supply, and they are strict about what they expect from their advisors.?

I discussed this with Andi Govindia , CEO of Riviter, a company that uses AI to predict consumer trends, in this episode of the Tech for Non-Techies podcast: 170. Advisory Boards: why join them & why have them

Listen to this episode to learn:

• What to expect in advisor?compensation
• How to use a start-up advisory board position for?your career goals
• How to be a?great advisor?to a start-up
• How?smart founders pick advisors?and work with them

This episode will help you have a great career in the Digital Age.

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Speak soon,

Sophia