Startup Advisors can make or break your growth. In this episode, Barry Stamos of Supernova shares how to build a world-class startup advisory board, manage relationships, and scale successfully.

With real-world lessons from the Tuft & Needle journey and his advisory platform Supernova, Barry dives deep into sourcing the right advisors, setting success metrics, avoiding red flags, and aligning compensation with performance.

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Here's what you're in for: 

00:00 – Introduction

00:08 – Meet Barry Stamos: Founder of Supernova

00:43 – Barry’s startup journey and lessons from past exits

03:10 – Why startup advisors and mentors are critical

03:29 – Finding and managing startup advisors effectively

05:29 – Startup advisor success story: learning from experience

08:56 – The right time for early stage startup support

12:26 – Tuft & Needle case study: startup advisor success story

16:04 – The real role of startup advisors in startup growth

20:33 – Managing advisor relationships for success

21:27 – How to compensate startup advisors effectively

23:53 – How to find startup advisors and sourcing advisors for startups

25:55 – Making aggressive advisor requests

29:16 – Startup advisor horror stories and startup advisor red flags

33:05 – Introducing Supernova: the startup advisor platform

35:44 – How Supernova matches advisors with founders

37:51 – Advice for founders seeking advisors and building a startup advisory board

40:00 – How to connect with Barry Stamos and Supernova

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ABOUT BARRY STAMOS

Barry Stamos is a 3x exited founder, startup advisor, and CEO of Supernova—a platform that connects high-growth startups with a curated network of successfully exited founders. With a track record that includes advising breakout companies like Tuft & Needle, Barry specializes in helping startups scale smarter through strategic advisory boards, hands-on mentorship, and performance-driven advisor relationships.

You can reach out to Barry through:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bstamos/

Supernova's Website: https://1supernova.com/

ABOUT JASON

Jason Kirby is the co-founder of Thunder VC. He is a serial entrepreneur with 4 multi-million exits and decades of experience in fundraising and business building. He has coached hundreds of entrepreneurs in his career on fundraising, investing, capital strategy, and business development.

You can reach out to Jason through:

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonrkirby/

ABOUT FUNDRAISING DEMYSTIFIED

Our goal is simple: to equip you with the knowledge, inspiration, and guidance to navigate the labyrinthine world of fundraising. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking seed funding or an established founder looking to scale your business, this podcast will provide you with the tools you need to conquer the fundraising landscape.

Thank you for being a loyal subscriber to Fundraising Demystified. We appreciate your support and are excited to continue bringing you more inspiring stories from successful founders.