How do I find a mentor or advisor who will actually help me, not just add a logo to my deck?
The best advisors are found through work, not asks: solve a specific problem near someone you admire and let the relationship form around real interaction. Pick people 5-10 years ahead of you, not decades, they still remember your problems and can give tactics, not platitudes. And never lead with 'will you be my mentor?'; lead with a sharp, specific question they're uniquely qualified to answer.
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Most mentorship advice is vibes; this is evidence, First Round analyzed 100 real matches and distilled what separated the transformative pairings from the dead ones. It gives founders concrete, testable rules for choosing and running a mentor relationship.
Finding an advisor is only half the job; extracting value is the harder, less-discussed half. This piece is a concrete tactical checklist for running advisor relationships so they stay useful instead of decorative.
