Startup Mentorship: What Good Advisory Actually Looks Like
'Advisor' is one of the most inflated titles in Indian startups. Anyone can add it to a LinkedIn profile. Very few actually earn it.
Key takeaways
- —Real advisory is a monthly working cadence, not a LinkedIn title.
- —The best mentors are narrow and opinionated, not broad generalists.
- —Operator experience compounds — advisors who've built at your stage think in your currency.
- —A meaningful advisor grant is 0.25–0.5% vesting over 24 months with a 3-month cliff.
Good advisory is a cadence, not a title
A real advisor shows up monthly with a prepared agenda, remembers your last three decisions, and holds you accountable to the ones you committed to. If your advisor cannot summarise your business without notes, they are not advising you.
Narrow beats broad
The best mentors are opinionated in one or two specific areas — fundraising, GTM, hiring, unit economics — and honest about where they cannot help. Generalist 'advisors' are usually just fans.
Operator experience compounds
Advisors who have themselves built something at your stage think in your currency: hours, hires, and runway. Advisors who have only ever been investors think in memos.
Equity should mean something
A meaningful advisor grant is 0.25–0.5% vesting over 24 months with a 3-month cliff. If you cannot describe what this person will do to earn that, do not grant it. Silent advisors devalue every future grant.
The single test for a good advisor
Would you call this person before a hard decision — a co-founder split, a down round, a firing? If the answer is no, they are a supporter, not an advisor. Both are fine; only one deserves equity.
For our approach to hands-on mentorship for early-stage founders, see the Siora advisory page.
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Pitch to usFounder and Principal, Siora Capital · Angel investor and mentor to 50+ Indian startups