NICK HYNES
Product Management
Advising
For your startup, a trusted, experienced Product advisor can
be the difference between success and failure.
Advising overview
The early-stage startups I advise benefit from the experience and support I provide to larger startups and scaleups as part of my consulting work. With that said, the needs of early-stage startups tend to be different to those of more established players and require more nuanced, foundational support.
Broadly speaking, you can see me as a practical general advisor with domain-specific support around Product, raising investment, and growing your team.
Achieve Product / Market fit
Startups are hard. There is limited opportunity to find Product / Market fit before time, money, and energy run out. As an experienced founder and Product leader, I can help you and your startup use your resources judiciously to achieve Product / Market fit in as short a period of time as possible.
- Feature roadmap review and prioritisation guidance
- Product-led growth and flywheel opportunity identification
- Business / financial model review
- Pricing positioning and alignment
- Target customer / user refinement
- Short- to medium-term company goal stress-testing
- Third-party / service provider review and due diligence
Raise Angel investment / Venture Capital
Each and every sector in tech is packed with incumbents and new rivals joining the scene on a regular basis. To compete and scale rapidly, many of the most ambitious startups need to raise capital or get drowned out. I will help you position your startup for investment by domain-appropriate investors and coach you throughout the process of pitching and raising.
- Pitch structuring best-practices and deck reviews
- Accelerator due diligence and application support
- Valuation and financial projection stress-testing
- VC fund introductions and relationship support
- Target customer / user refinement
- Term sheet review and negotiation guidance
Hire great team members
Great startups are made and operated by high-performing teams of top talent. The best professionals are spoiled for choice in an ever-accelerating environment and emerging startups need to stand out to have a chance. I'll help you build an outstanding team of employees and connect you to supporting specialists where needed.
- Headcount needs analysis and planning
- Interview process best-practices
- Live interview participation and coaching
- Equity and options distribution for founders and early-employees
- Compensation guidance and market awareness
- Sourcing and interviewing board of directors / advisor candidates
My advising thesis
In addition to some of the consulting criteria I follow, a good advising
fit has a couple of additional characteristics which are worth specifically highlighting.
Probably for you if:
- You're looking to get into a better position to raise your next round
- You're a mission-driven founder
- Your MVP is pre-Product / Market fit
- Some users / customers using a live product
- Your startup is pre- or early-revenue
Probably not for you if:
- You're not dedicating most or all your time to the startup
- Daily active support is needed (see "Consulting")
- There is no working MVP or a basic, clickable prototype
- You are a 1-person operation and want to stay small
- You're not looking to scale rapidly
Want me to help you?
What does a typical advisory arrangement look like?
In conjunction with some of the consulting criteria I follow, a good advising
fit has a couple of additional characteristics which are.
You get:
- 3 x hour-long video advisory calls each month (typically run longer)
- Support and access via phone, text, and email
- Addition of a senior advisor to your board of advisors
- Access and introductions to appropriate contacts in my network
Note: Exact arrangements are documented and finalised in the advisory relationship agreement
In exchange:
- Small equity stake vesting monthly over period up to 12 - 18 months
Resources on Startup advisor best-practices
For more on startup advisory relationships, best-practices, and compensation
guidance, below you can find some very useful articles and videos from the likes
of famed Angel investor Jason Calacanis, prestigious accelerator Y-Combinator,
and equity specialists Carta.
What's next?
If you’d like to chat with me about your startup and what I can do to help you just send me a quick message. I’d be delighted to chat with you to see how I can help and if there’s a good fit.
Questions about advising services
Anywhere between 6 – 24 months. The period of time is important because building great startups takes time. An advisor cannot get you from where you are to where you want to be in a month, a quarter, or likely even a half-year. It will take time to help you evolve from idea, to product / market fit, to raising, to scale, growth, and beyond.
From time to time I may decide to invest in the company. When I really believe in the founding team of a company I will seek to invest when they are looking to raise their next round. Accepting investment from someone who is already advising your company sends a very positive message to the market that yours is a company which is believed in by someone with a lot of experience, has access to all the data and workings of the company, and knows the founders and team very well.
Investors want to be pitched to by founders, not advisors. With that said, I can and will advise and support you on your fundraising journey, including pitch coaching and deck reviews. Needless to say, with your consent, I will also look make introductions to investors who will likely be interested in your startup.
I don’t typically take seats on the company’s board of directors, however, after a period of time of getting to know one another through the advisory relationship, if this is something you need (and we both believe I would be a good fit for this position) this is something we can discuss as an option.
This is a good thing! This is a sign your startup has progressed to a point whereby your needs have changed and what got you to where you are now won’t necessarily get you to the next stage.
The world of startups is ever-changing. If at any point one or both of us feel like the partnership is not longer working we can wind down the working relationship. You should have the right to replace any advisor who is no longer appropriate for your company.
Taking on any advisor to your startup should not be something you should rush into. Take your time. I for one will only work with founders and businesses who are ready and able for my support. If you’re still unsure just reach out to me and we will both be able to quickly identify if there’s a good fit there or not.
