What is an advisor agreement?
An advisor agreement is a written contract between a startup and an external advisor — typically an experienced operator, domain expert or investor — that documents the advisor’s role, deliverables, time commitment, equity compensation (typically 0.1%–1.0% of common stock with one-year cliff or shorter, four-year vesting), confidentiality, IP assignment and termination terms.
The Founder Institute’s FAST (Founder/Advisor Standard Template) and similar industry templates are commonly used baselines. Advisor agreements should be tailored to whether the advisor is compensated solely in equity, a mix of cash and equity, or pro bono with optionality.