One of the challenges of running a startup is that you only know so much on your own. We identified healthcare as a promising area, but I didn’t have a background in the sector and needed feedback on assumptions and key metrics. I also wanted guidance on SaaS sales for selling software to businesses. Connectd introduced me with exactly the right people from my wish list, which was incredibly valuable.
The impact went beyond advice. It’s helped me streamline the business, reduce stress and make clearer decisions. One insight led to another, for example, I realised I should block out my day around priorities like sales. Having access to the right advisors has helped me organise my time, sharpen my thinking and feel like everything is moving in the right direction.
It’s made the business feel more on track and reduced a lot of the stress.
I think it’s incredibly valuable. In my past career, I wasn’t an executive interacting with boards, so this has been a different experience. For me, regular check-ins; weekly or biweekly, provide structured feedback and push me to raise my own bar. I come prepared with questions, follow up thoughtfully, and it helps me stay professional and organised.
Beyond that, it’s about learning from someone who’s done it before. I can take their insights and adapt them to what makes sense for my business. Having that guidance just makes everything a lot easier.
I think it’s a no-brainer. But timing matters.If I’d brought in advisors before having a clear go-to-market strategy, it might have been less effective. Being clear on your goals makes it much easier to get value from board advisors. For me, the experience has been incredibly positive, like a windfall of advice that helped both me and Terawatt move forward.
Without advice, some problems can feel like insurmountable obstacles. But with the right input, it suddenly feels simple,” just do X, Y, and Z and move on”. That’s been freeing. You can’t know everything as a founder, but most things are very learnable once you have the wisdom and perspective from people who’ve been there before.
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