Be a part of StartUp Partners

StartUp Partners

HBS Alumni share their industry knowledge and business building experience with local entrepreneurs in a lunchtime advisory roundtable session.

It is a high touch, low commitment program that has been embraced by HBS alums who want to bring their seasoned business expertise to emerging business leaders and startups.

Startup Advisors

Advisors consist of volunteer HBS Alumni looking to share their knowledge and experience with the local startup ecosystem and connect with local entrepreneurs.

Advisor Info

Entrepreneurs

Startups in early development stage needing an outside perspective and supportive exploration of their current challenges find a free, short-term group of advisors to help unravel problems.

Entrepreneur Info

Join Mailing List

StartUp Advisors

As Part of the StartUp Partners Program, Alumni Advisors Provide the following:

Advice on strengthening business plans & strategies for raising capital
Candor that helps focus startup’s strategy & clarifies customer pain points
Insights on product-market fit and scaling business
Curated, topically focused peer group discussions among entrepreneurs
Introductions to ecosystem – customers, partners, VCs

Participation in the StartUp Partners Program as an Advisor is a Benefit of Membership with the HBS Association of Boston.

Advisors must be current members of HBSAB or be prepared to signup for membership before their first session.

HBSAB Membership Benefits

Join HBSAB Now

Meetings are from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Up to six HBS Alumni, for each 2 hour session, are ADVISORS to the lead ENTREPRENEUR of one specific startup.
ADVISORS receive information in advance and during the session they investigate up to two focused business challenges presented by the startup.
ENTREPRENEURS come from a variety of sectors including MedTech, EdTech, Real Estate, Insurance, Finance, Travel, Consumer Services, Retail, AutoTech and more.
Sign up to advise an upcoming StartUp Partner session below using the “Sign Up” button. Sessions are filled on a first come, first serve basis and are only open to members of the HBS Association of Boston.

Entrepreneurs / Startups

As Part of the StartUp Partners Program, entrepreneurs and startups receive the following:

Advice on strengthening business plans, going to market strategies, timing for raising capital, etc.
Clarification of the startup’s strategy & pain points
Insights on product-market fit and scaling business
Curated, topically focused peer group discussions among entrepreneurs
Introductions to ecosystem – customers, partners, VCs

Meetings are from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Up to six HBS Alumni, for each 2 hour session, are ADVISORS to the lead ENTREPRENEUR of one specific startup. The meeting is held on the HBS campus or at the ENTREPRENEUR’S office.
About 2 weeks before the session, ENTREPRENEURS provide StartUp Partners with one or two focus questions to guide the discussion and a their pitch deck so ADVISORS receive all information needed ahead of time and are prepared to provide meaningful support.

Submit Your Startup

Entrepreneur Testimonials

Startup Partners was an incredible opportunity for us to test our thinking with a seasoned group of executives.

Especially for a founder in the climate space, it was helpful to test our assumptions with experienced leaders with diverse perspectives.

The mentorship that Startup Partners provides is a great resource for any entrepreneur seeking to sharpen their approach.

~ Sanchali Pal, Founder & CEO

This was a great time effective and high value use of my time. I recommend the program without reservations.

We worked with six relevant advisors, who read the materials ahead of time and we had a very collaborative working session on different go-to-market issues.

This was a great two hour working session on a top issue for the company.

~ Paul Baier, Founder

The advisors who joined our Startup Partners session offered valuable insight and feedback on our plans for growth.

The session came at the perfect time as Soofa is evaluating potential partnerships to scale existing markets and launch new markets.

Our leadership team found the session to be highly valuable – we came away with actionable advice and great connections.

~ Ed Krafcik, Co-Founder & VP

When the opportunity came to meet with a room full of HBS people to run our ideas by we jumped at the opportunity.

Making sure we had our messaging down was something that the Startup Partners helped set us in the right direction.

It’s a short two hours but a long version of what you can use to be successful in the future.

~Renee Fry, Founder

Startup Partners was a great opportunity to discuss our business model with a group of individuals from a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences

It was an excellent chance to better define our value proposition, examine our business model, and come away with concrete action items to implement as we continued to grow Patch.

~ Rachel Sanders, CEO

It was like having a high powered board meeting with 8 VERY smart people in 2 hours.

As an entrepreneur, it’s always good to get objective advice from a group who are not as close to the idea as I am.

I was also able to secure some connections that I’m confident will help move my business forward."

~ Robert Shapiro, Co-Founder

Startup Partners was an incredible opportunity for us to test our thinking with a seasoned group of executives.

Especially for a founder in the climate space, it was helpful to test our assumptions with experienced leaders with diverse perspectives.

The mentorship that Startup Partners provides is a great resource for any entrepreneur seeking to sharpen their approach.