Your Healthcare Startup Needs an Advisory Board—Here’s How to Build One That Matters

When you're building a healthcare startup, credibility and strategic guidance can be just as important as capital. One of the best ways to access both? A well-structured advisory board.

“An advisory board should be a strategic toolkit,” said Nell Smircina, DAOM, Search Fund Principal at Novastone Capital Advisors.

Board members should be built for impact, not appearance. Their expertise, advice and actions are critical to helping your startup meet its milestones. Assembling the right board requires a clear purpose, an understanding of your evolving needs, and a thoughtful approach to recruitment.

Here are four tips to help you build an advisory board that works for your business.

1. Establish the Board’s Purpose

Before seeking out board members, define what you want to gain from the board, such as credibility, scientific guidance, strategic input, networking opportunities, and more.

Then figure out how often the board will meet, what duties will fall under board members, length of terms, and compensation, which could be pay or equity.Then lean on your mission and vision to build your board and establish what success looks like. Try to think about future goals, too, said Smircina.

“As companies get more established, they might need a board that functions in more of a management capacity, as investors get involved, they might want a board seat as well, so setting really clear expectations from the beginning on goals and how they could transform over time is really critical,” she explained.

Also, consider whether you might want subcommittees on the board.

“For instance, if you want to go public, you could create an IPO steering committee made up of people with a diverse backgrounds who can help you navigate the IPO process,” Vivian Cervantes, Senior Vice President of Healthcare for Investor Relations at CORE IR, told Cure.

2. Think Beyond a List of Impressive Names

Smircina said many times she sees founders or companies focus on a list of impressive names rather than a qualified group of people.

“Investors are going to ask if you have someone who has guidance on FDA clinical trials or payer strategy, for instance. They want advisors to be able to bridge the science and the business,” she said.

Make your board a mix of both members with a science background and a business background, so that the answer is “yes” when investors ask, “Is this team window dressing or are they actually going to be able to fill the gaps that are needed for this company to hit milestones?”

Including members with different skill sets that compliment your management team is a good start.

“Whether it be having someone on the finance side, capital market side, in operations, or strategy, you want to have a little bit of a broad footprint so that if you run into trouble with a particular topic, you’ve got someone who knows how to help you navigate it,” said Cervantes.

Including people who will help you execute and create value for your shareholders is a good idea, she added.

“When it comes to the scientific advisory board, you want to have people who really understand what you’re trying to do, the industry, who get your [challenges], and who have connections to open doors.”

3. Evolve Your Board to Over Time

As a startup, you might not have a C-suite or flushed out management team.

“If you’re too top heavy, investors don’t like that,” said Smircina. “They might wonder if you’re paying money to a lot of board members how are you going to keep cash in the company and grow.”

While you aim for a strong advisory board, as your company transitions and grows, consider that the board may need to help with some of the management of the business.

Also, consider that board seats might be part of a negotiation with funders. If this occurs, Cervantes said find a way to leverage their skill set and experience.

“If they are not clinical or technical, but more financial, maybe they can help address your capital structure,” she said.

4. Plan Your Approach to Potential Board Members

Once you know people you would like to reach out to, Smircina said consider asking a mutual connection in the industry if they would introduce you.

Go in with a warm intro and explain how their expertise could be helpful and what they might get from it too.

“Maybe this is a semi-retired person who just like doesn’t want to be completely retired and loves the idea of helping a startup in this space,” she said. “Really establish what their motivations are and how you could potentially add value to them.”

Conduct what she calls a discovery call that leaves options open for them to share what they can help with and who they might know who can help with other board needs.

“Sometimes it’s not the person you initially reach out to, but you have to do a little bit of a discovery call conversation with them and they may tell you, ‘I’m only able to do X, Y, and Z, but my friend who used to be on a board of this other company with me is retired now and she’s looking for a role like this.’”