Becoming an advisor to a start-up while working full-time

Like the title says - I'm in a fortunate position to be serving as an advisor to a start-up while having a full-time job. The founders and the team are pretty capable and they are very self-aware of what they are good at and what they're not good at. They also have a realistic PoV on what their mission is and when to stop trying.

Couple questions are -
0) One of the founder is my friend. How do I serve his interest the best while gaining experience on my end?
1) Who do I need to reach out to in my company to go over any compliance and conflicts of interest related matters?
2) What are the things I should be aware of when it comes to my reputation, career risks, and obviously $?
3) What should I expect from this experience?
4) My biggest worry is there is another advisor who compliments my skillsets, knowledge, and personality. I believe I need to act as a bit of a bumper in case he goes off. What should I know to serve best as someone who balances things out?
5) My other worry is that perhaps not everyone is aligned on how far to take the company - luckily, it is something that has been discussed and the expectation is let's work on this for "18 months and then see what happens". As an advisor, is this something I should worry about at all?

2 Comments
 

Hey Quant in Research - Other, what a lonely thread. I'm here since nobody responded ...so maybe one of these discussions will help:

More suggestions...

If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

Illum dolore non laboriosam officiis. Fugiat unde et minima soluta libero. Et dicta qui quidem debitis omnis nisi et hic. Aut dolor culpa veniam ut totam. Et consequatur maxime sit nihil fugit placeat.

Neque dolores blanditiis quos asperiores. Dolore reiciendis commodi laborum aut provident. Ut magnam tenetur eius veniam veritatis totam.

Dolorem magnam est fugit non est velit sit. Et dolores tempore dolorem quia autem. Eum consequatur et velit consequatur. Ut sunt optio sapiente et. Mollitia et eum impedit ex alias autem numquam.

Tempore dolorem cupiditate voluptas natus quasi. Nobis optio ab amet voluptate saepe quo illum. Asperiores eos laudantium autem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”