A startup advisor can provide some important advantages for your startup. We start with the advantages - and end with 3 common mistakes to avoid.
Advisors can help provide expertise (e.g. in areas such as industry knowledge or startup funding), CEO coaching, introductions (investor introductions as well as introductions to potential partners and customers), and they provide credibility to a startup.
A Board of Advisors has additional benefits over individual advisors in that a Board provides the opportunity for your advisors to interact with each other and potentially generate ideas that would not come out of a one-on-one advisory session. A Board of Advisors can also provide a certain amount of accountability, and preparing for a Board of Advisors meeting is a good opportunity for a founder to step back and assess the startup's overall situation, and that's a good exercise to go through occasionally.
To clarify an advisor's role, it's always a good idea to document an advisor relationship with a short advisor agreement (or Board of Advisors agreement) that outlines the advisor's commitment and their advisor stock compensation.