Free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it
- cnasir9
- Feb 12
- 2 min read
Joe Hetherington discusses why budgeting for expert board support could be your defining decision
I'll be straight with you—I don't buy into symbolism. I believe in creating your own luck through hard work, sharp decisions and learning from people who've been there before.
But something oddly leapt out at me during a conversation in the office this week, all around the Chinese Year of the Fiery Horse. And despite my better judgment, I can't shake it.
Speed. Energy. Freedom.
The year is associated with freedom, transformation and major change. And as I look across the green economy—at the brilliant founders racing to scale their innovations, burning through capital at breakneck speed—I can't shake the feeling that the Fiery Horse might be the perfect metaphor for what I'm seeing.
All that energy and speed. But are they actually going anywhere?
Because here's what I'm witnessing too often: Founders with breakthrough technology, armed with seed funding and boundless drive, making a critical miscalculation. They budget meticulously for R&D, for prototypes, for marketing. But when it comes to the people who could actually help them harness all that fiery energy and channel it toward sustainable growth? That line item mysteriously disappears.
"We'll find a mentor who'll do it for free," they say. "We'll tap our network for advice."
But there's a difference between accepting advice and actually investing in wisdom. And here's the uncomfortable truth that could define whether 2026 becomes your year of progress or your year of expensive lessons:
Free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it.
Yes, you can cobble together guidance from well-meaning contacts, from LinkedIn connections, from that sustainability advisor who owes you a favour. But is this the bespoke, battle-tested wisdom you need when you're surging toward decisions that will define your company's trajectory?
Speed without direction is just expensive chaos.
A Closing Thought
I'm optimistic about 2026. The momentum is there. The talent is there. The capital—though tighter than 2021—is still there for the right opportunities.
It could be your year of genuine progress, but only if you're wise enough to accept advice from those who've earned the right to give it. In funding rounds, make sure you budget for key advisory board positions.
Believe me, it's the investment that pays for itself.
