Get paid for what you know: how founders can monetise their expertise

Advice. We give it. We take it. We trade it. But what if the advice you give could pay you?

American novelist Harper Lee put it best when she said: “Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.”

As a founder, you’ve lived through the hard lessons of starting and running a business. You’ve raised the money, hired teams, launched products or services, and learned a lot along the way. What you may not be aware of though, is that knowledge is extremely valuable.

Throughout this series of articles for Startups Magazine, I’ve been running you through a number of different ways that founders can make additional revenue. Today, we’re going to explore two of the most powerful ways to get paid for what you know. Let’s get into it.

Why your knowledge is valuable

According to Investopedia, 90% of startup founders fail. Think about that for a second. Most founders don’t make it past the first or second year of operation. They get stuck on growth. They run out of money. They hire the wrong people. They build something no one wants.

So if you’re a founder of a startup business that’s been operating for a few years, you’re in the 10%. You made it this far. You survived some of those traps. You learned lessons most founders never get the opportunity to learn, or never survive to tell.

That experience is scarce. Nine in 10 founders haven’t paid that tuition. But you have.

Because of this, you have the unique opportunity to make a real difference for other founders or aspiring entrepreneurs just starting out. They’ll be able to utilise your guidance and experience to help with their own business. Your story becomes insight and perspective. It’s a shortcut through the trials and tribulations that come with building a startup. In return, you can charge for your time.

This isn’t a far-fetched concept. Research suggests that 75% of new founders have used a business mentor in the past, with 56% seeking advice from friends or family, and 39% working with a professional mentor. So, there’s definitely a market for advice.

Ways to get paid for what you know

We’ve now established that your knowledge is worth something. That the experience you’ve gained from running your own business can be monetised. But how on earth do you go about this? Well, there are two ways that you can turn what you know into income:

• Consulting for cash
• Advisory equity shares

Here’s what both of those terms mean.

1. Consulting for cash

With this model, you share what you know, and other founders pay you for it and for many founders, that’s exactly what makes consulting so attractive.

Why consulting works

You already have something people need: experience. Startups regularly pay consultants thousands for strategic guidance. Large advisory firms build entire businesses around insights that you’ve earned by actually doing the work. The difference is you’ve done it from the inside. That gives you credibility and pattern recognition.

When a founder is stuck on pricing, growth, hiring, or fundraising, you can often see the issue in minutes. Because you’ve seen it before.

What consulting can look like

Consulting doesn’t have to mean quitting your startup and becoming a full-time advisor. After all, you want this to be an additional revenue stream, not your primary revenue stream. It can be structured around your availability. Here are a few common models:

• Hourly strategy sessions: focused, high-impact calls. A founder comes with a challenge. You help them think it through.
• Project-based work: helping refine a pitch deck. Creating a hiring roadmap. This has a defined start and finish. You’re working on a specific project
• Monthly retainers: ongoing advisory support with regular check-ins. Access to you when decisions need to be made. This provides predictable income, and you’ll have a deeper involvement here.

When pricing, think value, not time

This is where many founders hesitate. They think: “Who would pay me for this?”

But think about the alternative.

If your advice helps a startup avoid a bad hire that would have cost £80,000 …

If you help them close a funding round …

If you help them fix a broken growth strategy …

Was that just an hour?

Consulting is not about charging for time but charging for impact. Price based on the value you believe that you can create, not on your comfort level (don’t let the imposter syndrome get in the way here). Corporate consultants charge premium fees every day for strategic insight. Your lived experience is just as powerful, often more so.

2. Getting paid in equity

Now, some startups can’t afford to pay you in cash. They’re early, and they’re scrappy after all. Every pound is going into their business. But what they can offer you is ownership.

This is where advisory shares come in. Advisory shares are typically the same common shares or stock options given to early employees. The only difference is, they’re granted in exchange for your advice and network. Instead of a fee, you receive a small piece of the company.

According to recent startup compensation data, the median advisor equity grant is:

• 0.21% at pre-seed
• 0.12% at seed
• 0.05% at Series A

While this may sound small, it’s important to remember that this is equity in a company that could grow significantly in value. Early-stage equity is a bet. High risk. High potential upside.

Why offer equity

Here’s why founders offer it, and why it works:

• It conserves cash: early-stage companies need every dollar to survive. Equity allows them to bring in high-level expertise without draining the bank account
• It aligns incentives: when you own a piece of the company, you care differently. Your success is tied to their success. Research highlighted by Harvard Business Review shows that ownership is one of the strongest ways to align incentives and attract top human capital
• It attracts serious advisors: equity signals commitment on both sides. You’re not just giving advice. You’re invested

Ways advisors can receive equity

There are usually two ways.

1. Restricted stock awards: you receive actual shares upfront. They vest over time. If you stop advising early, you don’t keep all of them. Simple
2. Stock options: you get the right to buy shares later at a fixed price. If the company grows, you can exercise at that lower price and benefit from the upside

Both have tax implications. Both require proper documentation. And both should be structured carefully. Which brings us to something important: Equity is not a handshake deal. A formal advisor agreement is essential. It should clearly outline:

• Your role and area of expertise
• Time commitment
• Number of shares or options
• Vesting schedule (often monthly over 1-4 years)
• Confidentiality and IP terms

Many startups use standardised templates like the Founder/Advisor Standard Template (FAST), but you should always have legal counsel review any agreement.

Final thoughts

Your experience is not just a chapter in your own story. It’s a map for someone else who is standing exactly where you once stood.

Too many founders treat their knowledge as a by-product of building a business. In reality, it’s an asset in its own right. You’ve already done the hard part: learning the lessons the slow, expensive way. Monetising that insight simply allows you to extract more value from the journey you’ve already taken.

Whether you choose cash, equity, or a blend of both, the principle is the same: expertise compounds when you share it. You strengthen other businesses. You expand your network. You sharpen your own thinking. And you create an additional income stream that isn’t tied to a single company or outcome.

You built experience the hard way. There’s no reason not to let it work for you now.

Part four of a five-part series.