VENTURE51 IS A SEED & EARLY-STAGE FUND BUILT FOR ENTREPRENEURS BY ENTREPRENEURS.

the agile advisory deck

•Top-down tyrannical approach•Not “Agile” with latent feedback loops•Lack strategic value•Dysfunctional arrogance•Often “panicky” & too revenue focused•Often about past progress and not future minded•Not aligned with entrepreneurial realities

*Note: For this presentation we define seed and/or early-stage as a pre Series A company. Once a company has matured to a Series A (in terms of financing) a traditional Board structure make more sense.

CHALLENGES WITH BOARDS AT THE SEED & EARLY-STAGE

•“Agile” and “real-time feedback loops•Bottom-up and accountable •Strategic to the business•Educated to enable decisions •Focused on customers (not revenue)•Ask, “What do we need to do next?”•Been in the entrepreneurs shoes

Investor

Rqmts

Strategic

Value

Accountable

Agile Focused on

Customer Dev

Done it

Before

THE NEW DEMANDS OF LEAN & AGILE STARTUPS

Value Creation Alignment

Capital

Very important, but not top of mind

Founder mitigation Strategic inputCustomer developmentProduct expertiseGo-to-marketPartnershipsRevenue modelingLegal & admin

TimeOn-going conversationsMentorshipsAccountabilityGrowth vs. Exit

GIVE THE FOUNDERS WHAT THEY WANT

+ =Value Creation Alignment Transparency

Founder mitigation Strategic inputCustomer developmentProduct expertiseGo-to-marketPartnershipsRevenue modelingLegal & admin

TimeOn-going conversationsMentorshipsAccountabilityGrowth vs. Exit

Access to foundersAccess to challengesAccess to real-time informationAccess to the business

ALIGNMENT & TRANSPARENCY YEILD VALUE CREATION

•Non-board binding relationship•Advisors are mentors•Advisors have been entrepreneurs•Advisors have invested in entrepreneurs •Advisors know other advisors•Advisors are active•Advisors provide connection•Advisors are available•Advisors help facilitate partnership structures

ADVISORS ARE BEST POSITIONED FOR ALIGNMENT & VALUE

Agile Advisory BoardFocused on:Founder mitigation Strategic inputCustomer developmentProduct expertiseGo-to-marketPartnershipsRevenue modelingLegal & admin

Startup & FoundersFocuses on:Customer Validation & DevelopmentProduct DevelopmentUser ExperienceCapital FormationFounder collaborationPartnership & DistributionLegalAgile Feedback

Loops (1:1)Agile Feedback Loops (Group)

Agile Status Loops (Group)

& Logged

Agile Status Loops (1:1)

Venture51

Scheduled Quarterly Meetings

THE AGE OF THE AGILE ADVISORY BOARD

Networked

Domain Expertise

Generous

Startup Burn

Know How to Make Money

Accountable

Industry and domain expertise in:Startup LeadershipProduct Development Marketing & BizdevDistributionKnow the right people for:

PartnershipsVentureM&ADistributionAdvisors

They like to get their hands dirty and strategically execute in the startup.

Willing to commit time to entrepreneurs in order to help them succeed.

They have successfully help build a company, sold a company or multiple companies

Have felt the pressure as an entrepreneur and help others learn to thrive in it.

THE DNA OF A VALUEADDED ADVISOR

Agile Advisor Network

Extended Agile Advisor Network

Handpicked Advisory Board

Portfolio Companyventure51

Extended Dev, UX & Marketing

Resources

PHP, Python, Ruby, Java,

Dot Net, CS5

iOS, Android, Windows, BB

UX Designers

Lean Customer Dev & Marketing

Resources

AN EXTENDED OFFERING