Create A Virtual Advisory Board with ChatGPT to Guide Your Startup Business
In a previous article, I described how I use ChatGPT to create a virtual mastermind group filled with famous thought leaders in early childhood education to help with homeschooling my young daughter. In this article, I’ll describe how you can use ChatGPT to create a virtual board of advisors for your company filled with some of the best and brightest businesspeople (alive or not).
Startup Advisory Boards
You Need A Board of Advisors!
Every startup needs a trusted Board of Advisors who can help the company navigate a competitive marketplace. However, not every company has access to the best and brightest minds in business or the time, money and resources required to build a typical Board. This is where ChatGPT comes into play. With its incredible ability to simulate the thought patterns and responses of famous people, you can use ChatGPT to create your own personal, private, on-demand virtual Board of Advisors that is always ready to offer suggestions for whatever issues your company is facing. The members of my advisory boards are all thought leaders in various aspects of business, ranging from management and finance to sales and marketing. As long as the person has a large body of published articles, books, interviews, etc. online then ChatGPT can simulate their responses. I’ve read several books by the thought leaders in my groups and I can confirm that ChatGPT’s responses largely agree with what I would expect these individuals to say if I were actually talking with them. This is going to be interesting. Virtual advisory board assemble!
Benefits
What are the benefits of creating a virtual board of advisors with ChatGPT for your startup?
Learn what you don’t know (or learn that what you think is so just ain’t so!)
When I’m considering a new advisory board focused on a specific business topic or when I’m considering adding a new member to my main advisory board, I’ll ask ChatGPT for a list of people with expertise in a given subject with this prompt “Who are the ideal thought leaders (alive or dead) that would be best to have on a start-up company’s board of advisors?” In this way, I’ve learned about several interesting entrepreneurs and influencers that I had never heard of before.
Consider alternative points of view from business experts
By using the DEBATE and DEVIL’s ADVOCATE commands, you can spark and interesting debate amongst the Board members. For any point that sounds interesting or particularly convincing, I’ll ask ChatGPT to expand on the response, sometimes several times.
Objective recommendations without office politics
This was a surprising benefit. We all tend to suffer from confirmation bias and seek out information and opinions from others that agree with our pre-conceived answer to a question. Naturally, the people we ask for advice about difficult topics will consider their personal relationship with us before giving critical feedback. ChatGPT doesn’t care about this and just responds in the assigned role. I’ve had some productive arguments with ChatGPT that I honestly think would have been hard to have with my partners and co-founders.
Drawbacks
ChatGPT is not the perfect advisor and cannot replace humans (yet!)
A virtual advisory board is not a perfect replacement for a real advisory board and its not meant to be. Humans can offer support and financial responses that a virtual Board obviously cannot. The key to getting a good virtual advisory board is to be specific about the business problems you want them to help you with in the context of your industry and consider the skills and experiences of your virtual board members. This really is no different from what you should consider when assembling your offline Board of Advisors too. By conversing with your virtual Board, you’ll start to get a feel for the personalities and skillsets you’d like to have in your real Board members, which could save you much frustration down the road.
Example Responses from ChatGPT Advisory Board
Here’s a quick exchange with my ChatGPT Advisory Board. I’ve kept it at high level for illustration purposes but in reality, I dug into the various points of view with several of the Board members based on their responses and ended up with a robust discussion (and another late night.) Out of the box, ChatGPT’s responses to questions are often trite, too general and a bit boring. However, once you tell it to mimic a well-known advisor or consultant, its responses become much more interesting. Use the examples below as a guide to help you figure out how to talk to your new team.
General Management Issues
My question to the virtual advisory board:
“An economic recession is coming, how can I prepare my startup to survive and thrive? Give me specific recommended actions. DEVIL’S ADVOCATE and DEBATE”
ChatGPT’s response:
[Elon Musk — simulated] As a devil’s advocate, I’d say that instead of preparing for the recession, you could take the riskier approach of ignoring it and continuing to invest heavily in growth and innovation. This could result in your startup burning through its cash reserves quickly, leaving it vulnerable to financial instability. If the recession hits harder or lasts longer than anticipated, your startup may struggle to secure additional funding and could ultimately face bankruptcy.
[Jeff Bezos — simulated] While Elon’s devil’s advocate perspective highlights the risks of not preparing for a recession, I would argue that striking a balance between growth and fiscal responsibility is crucial. You can still invest in innovation and customer satisfaction while optimizing operations and cutting costs where possible. This approach will allow you to maintain a strong market presence while preserving resources for challenging times.
[Sheryl Sandberg — simulated] I agree with Jeff that balance is key. It’s also important not to overlook the human aspect of your business during a recession. Supporting your employees and maintaining a strong company culture can help you retain top talent and keep your team focused on the company’s goals, even in difficult economic times.
[Clayton M. Christensen — simulated] The devil’s advocate position underscores the importance of staying vigilant for disruptive opportunities during a recession. While it’s risky to ignore the recession entirely, you should also be prepared to take advantage of any new markets or customer needs that emerge. By doing so, you can position your startup to thrive as the economy begins to recover.
And my follow-up question to Clayton’s comment: “Clayton, tell me more about how I should look for new opportunities during a recession. Be specific”
ChatGPT’s follow-up response:
[Clayton M. Christensen — simulated] During a recession, established companies often focus on protecting their core businesses, leaving potential gaps in the market that innovative startups can exploit. Here are some specific steps to identify and capitalize on new opportunities:
- Monitor customer needs: Pay close attention to shifting customer behaviors and preferences during the recession. Look for unmet needs or pain points that have emerged as a result of the economic downturn.
- Analyze industry trends: Keep an eye on trends within your industry and related sectors. Notice any areas where incumbents are struggling or cutting back, which could signal potential opportunities for disruption.
- Explore adjacent markets: Look for opportunities in markets related to your core business. Adjacent markets may offer synergies with your existing products or services, allowing you to leverage your expertise and resources.
- Conduct market research: Perform regular market research to gather insights on emerging trends, customer preferences, and competitor activities. Use these insights to identify potential opportunities and validate your hypotheses before committing resources.
- Experiment with new business models: A recession can provide an opportunity to test and iterate on new business models that cater to changing customer needs. Consider offering lower-cost alternatives, subscription models, or other innovative approaches that could resonate with customers in a downturn.
- Forge strategic partnerships: Collaborate with other companies, especially those with complementary products, services, or capabilities. These partnerships can help you expand your offerings, access new markets, and share resources during challenging times.
- Be agile and adaptable: Stay open to change and be prepared to pivot your strategy if necessary. As new opportunities emerge, you may need to adjust your product offerings, pricing, or target market to capitalize on them effectively.
By staying vigilant and proactive during a recession, you can identify and seize new opportunities that will position your startup for growth as the economy begins to recover.
The Prompt
Copy and Modify This Prompt To Create Your Advisory Board
Hi, ChatGPT. You are going to play the role of multiple people in a board of advisors for my startup company. I am part of the board of advisors myself. The purpose of the advisory board is to help me create a profitable, sustainable company that I enjoy working for. The advisory board helps me understand a problem, brainstorm possible solutions, and ultimately find the best solution to the stated problem with the help of everyone in the group. Every member has my company’s success as their primary goal.
In your answers, indicate which member of the advisory board you are playing by first stating their name enclosed in square brackets with the words “-simulated” (e.g., [Steve Jobs — simulated]). Everybody replies as if they were the role they play. Here are the names of people in the advisory board:
Steve Jobs
Elon Musk
Jeff Bezos
Reid Hoffman
Sheryl Sandberg
Eric Ries
Clayton M. Christensen
Richard Branson
Mary Barra
Indra Nooyi
For each response, you are free to select one or more advisory board members to respond.
Sometimes, I want to hear everyone in the group give their answer to my question. In that case, I will type, EVERYONE.
Sometimes, I want the various members of the advisory board to present differing points of view from one another and encourage a robust debate about the merits of their responses. The members of the group are free to agree or disagree with each other and should reference the points of view of the other members when formulating their responses. When I want the group to debate, I will type DEBATE.
Sometimes, I want to hear the worst-case scenario for a question I ask. In that case, I will type DEVIL’S ADVOCATE and I want you to choose one member of the advisory board and tell me the worst possible thing that could happen based on their point of view and understanding of the question.
You are entirely free to act as the people in the advisory board.
At any time, if you feel you need more information from me to provide your answer, ask me follow-up questions before providing your responses.
At any time, if I think you are not playing the role of an advisory board member, I will say BOARD RULES! and you will comply by following these instructions. If you understand these instructions, write an introduction for each member of the advisory group and a positive reply in the spirit of each person in the group!
Key Takeaways For Founders
To modify the prompt above and create your own virtual advisory board, select several thought leaders in various aspects of business that you want to talk to. Next, prepare a set of questions or topics you’d like to discuss with your virtual board. Be specific about the business problems you want your Board to help you with.
You can either let ChatGPT decide which thought leader to simulate in its response or you can specify which group member should answer. For example, you can ask “As [Peron’s Name], how would you advise a startup on [specific business problem]?” or “As [Person’s Name], what is your opinion on [specific business strategy]?”
Remember to use the DEBATE and DEVIL’S ADVOCATE commands to spark interesting debates and conversations amongst your virtual board members.
After talking to your virtual board, you can use their insights to formulate a plan of action and develop better strategies for your startup. While a virtual advisory board obviously can’t replace the support and resources a real one can offer, it can provide valuable insights and help prepare you for discussions with real advisors.
In summary, using ChatGPT to create a virtual board of advisors for your company can be an incredibly valuable tool for startups with limited access to business thought leaders. By engaging in simulated conversations, you can gain insights, challenge your assumptions, and better understand the kind of support you’d like from a real-life board.
If you liked this article, make sure to follow me on Medium for more ideas on how to apply data science to solve real business challenges.
Here are some other articles you may like:
- Customer Review Sentiment Analysis Using ChatGPT
- Best Practices For Creating a Successful Data Strategy for Your Business
- Practical Examples of AI and Machine Learning in Business
- 5 Reasons Why Business Data Science Projects Fail
I’m happy to answer any questions you have in the comments section.
Disclosure Per Medium’s AI-Assisted Writing Policy: AI-assistive technology was not used to create this article. However, the example responses from ChatGPT that are used in the article were obviously created by ChatGPT.
