Article · 12 min read

7 Tactics to Get the Most Out of Your Startup's Advisors

Phin Barnes (First Round Capital) · First Round Review Free Intermediate

Tactic 7 is the exact conversation you need: you will outgrow advisors, so anticipate it by several months, tell them plainly what is changing and why, thank them specifically, and do not just start dodging calls. It reframes ending the relationship as a normal, professional transition rather than a firing, which is what keeps the person warm in a small ecosystem where you will cross paths again.

• Outgrowing an advisor (for example shifting from an engineering focus to sales) is expected, not a failure of the relationship
• Signal the wind-down months ahead and be direct about the why instead of quietly fading out
• Ghosting an advisor is the one move that actually costs you reputation; a direct, grateful conversation preserves it