Real-World Scenarios & Access

Should I set up a formal advisory board, or just keep a few informal advisors?

A starting point

At pre-seed and seed, skip the formal board. A named 'advisory board' with titles and equity grants creates admin, expectation, and cap-table clutter you do not need yet. Keep three to five informal advisors you actually call, each for one specific gap (hiring, GTM, fundraising). Formalize with paper and equity only when an advisor is doing real recurring work or their name genuinely de-risks you to investors. In India especially, watch that an advisor title does not become a way for someone to claim credit later without contributing.

Go deeper

Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time.

3 resources 3 link-checked Read Use

Read

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Why we picked it This is the guide that maps advisor structure to your exact stage, so you can see why a formal board is overkill at pre-seed. It says pre-seed relationships should stay informal and ad-hoc (median 0.21% equity, no titles), and that structure and paper only start earning their keep at seed when an advisor is doing recurring GTM or fundraising work. It gives real numbers (up to 0.8% at seed, 2 to 4 year vesting, one-year cliff) so you can tell a genuine formalization from cap-table clutter.

Strategic Advisory Boards Guide: Pre-Seed to Series B

From Allied Venture Partners by Allied Venture Partners 15 min read

  • Pre-seed advisors should be informal domain experts, not a named board with equity grants
  • Formalize at seed only when an advisor does recurring GTM, sales, or fundraising work
  • Advisory boards give non-binding advice with no voting rights or fiduciary duty, unlike a board of directors
Open allied.vc →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

Why we picked it This is the India-context piece for when you actually grant an advisor equity, written by a firm that does startup ESOP and advisor-equity work here. It walks the granting mechanics an Indian founder hits (board approval, a documented grant agreement, stock options vs RSUs, 4-year 25%-per-year vesting) and flags that advisor grants should stay in the 0.25% to 5% band across the whole pool. Read it before you promise equity so an advisor's title cannot become a later claim on your cap table without documented, vesting-gated work.

All About Advisor Equity: Types, Granting Process, Benefits

From Treelife by Treelife 10 min read

  • Advisor grants in India go through board approval plus a documented grant agreement, not a handshake
  • Keep total advisor equity within 0.25% to 5%, with vesting (e.g. 4 years, 25% per year) to gate it on real contribution
  • Stock options vs RSUs each carry different tax and cap-table treatment worth confirming with an India-focused advisor
Open treelife.in →

Use

🛠️ Tool
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Why we picked it This is the canonical, industry-standard answer to 'how much equity for an advisor', a free, ready-to-sign template used by tens of thousands of founders and advisors a year. It replaces awkward negotiation with a simple grid that maps engagement level and company stage to an equity number and vesting schedule.

The FAST Agreement (Founder / Advisor Standard Template)

From Founder Institute (fi.co) by Founder Institute short

  • Advisor equity is standardized by engagement level (standard / strategic / expert) and company stage, roughly 0.25% to 1%.
  • The template bakes in vesting (typically ~2 years) so a departing advisor doesn't keep unearned equity.
  • It removes the need for custom legal drafting: check a few boxes, sign, and start working.
  • Version 3 (2026) can be localized to jurisdictions beyond the US, including India, without hiring a lawyer.
Open fi.co →

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