I can tell you what I would avoid in the meeting –
Asking: “Will you be an advisor to my startup?”
If this person is the right type of person to advise your startup, has the right connections, and has the time to do it, then what you need to focus on in the meeting is getting them interested enough to ask you how they can be of service.
If you are the person who is doing the asking, then either they aren’t interested enough, or its not a good fit.
If, however, this person is interested and you don’t ask them for anything, they’ll be intrigued and offer.
You still will need to give them advisor equity, of course, but they’ll be more likely to want to work with you.
This is the same as any negotiation – if you have to ask, then you have failed. Convince the other person that they need you more than you need them and you’ve won.
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/What-are-things-to-avoid-when-meeting-with-a-former-COO-of-a-Fortune-500-company-to-get-him-to-be-an-advisor-to-my-startup-What-are-the-questions-to-ask-and-things-to-avoid-How-would-I-successfully-get-him-in
Originally Posted On: 2016-01-10