How to Build a Personal Board of Advisors

Founders and entrepreneurs are always chasing the next system to boost efficiency and scale faster.

But there’s one overlooked factor that has a compounding effect on everything…

Your circle of influence.

Harvard social psychologist Dr. David McClelland discovered that up to 95% of your success or failure comes down to one thing: the people you surround yourself with.

When I realized how critical my circle of influence was, I knew I had to level up.

So, I built my own Personal Board of Advisors.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll show you exactly how to assemble your own Personal Board of Advisors—and boost your chances of success by 95%.

Let’s dive in 🪂

Here’s the first thing you need to know about a Personal Board of Advisors: it’s not the same as having a mentor.

Relying on one mentor is often ineffective for several reasons:

• It’s a massive commitment for them.

• The relationship can feel one-sided and transactional.

• Finding one person with shared goals, deep experience, and time to spare? Nearly impossible.

But let’s be real—no one can deny the benefits of having mentorship in your life:

• A clear path to success.

• Better clarity on what to prioritize.

• Access to their network and opportunities.

So, how do you get the benefits without the drawbacks?

Simple: instead of putting all the responsibility on one person, I spread it across a group—a Personal Board of Advisors.

Here’s why a Personal Board of Advisors works better than traditional mentorship:

Unlike relying on one mentor, which comes with challenges like:

• Massive time commitment for them

• A one-sided, transactional dynamic

• Difficulty finding someone with the perfect mix of experience, goals, and availability

A Personal Board of Advisors lets you diversify your influences and distribute the responsibility across a group.

Here’s how I structure mine:

• Experts: Intellectual sparring partners who challenge my thinking.

• Peers: Fellow founders who provide “in-the-trenches” support.

• Mentors: People whose outcomes I aspire to emulate.

This setup gives me both lateral support (peers) and upward guidance (experts and mentors).

While experts and mentors offer high-level advice during set times, peers provide day-to-day encouragement and hands-on support. It’s the perfect balance for growth without overwhelm.

If you’re looking to level up, start building your own board today—it’s a game-changer.

Now, let’s talk about the second (and arguably most important) consideration when building my board.

Experience and expertise are crucial, but they’re just one piece of the puzzle.

There’s another set of factors that often gets overlooked when choosing advisors: who they are as people.

Here’s what I ask myself:

• Are they willing to tell me hard truths—even when I don’t want to hear them?

• Do they genuinely have my best interests at heart?

• Are they living a life I aspire to emulate?

These people will shape my decisions and influence my growth. If they can’t challenge me or if their values don’t align with mine, their presence becomes meaningless—more like trophies on a shelf than catalysts for progress.

And just like a public company board, each member of my personal board must help me level up in a specific area. Otherwise, it risks becoming an echo chamber or leaving gaps in my development.

Here’s who “sits” on my board right now:

• Sales: Alex Hormozi

• Growth: Justin Welsh

• Strategy: Alex Lieberman

• Community: Ssam Ovens

• Mental Wealth: James Clear

If you want to build your own board (and trust me, you should), here’s the 4-step process I use:

1. Map out your key growth areas.

2. List the pros and cons of each potential member.

3. Identify blind spots in your initial list and diversify accordingly.

4. Treat your board as dynamic—evaluate and adapt over time.

If you haven’t started building your board yet, block out time Monday morning to map it out. With up to a 95% chance of influencing your success, it’s an investment worth making.

And if you’re unsure where to start, I’ve got you covered.

On October 19th, the next live cohort of my Founder OS program kicks off—a perfect place to connect with like-minded founders and legends in the community. You’ll not only learn how to build your Personal Board of Advisors but also get my full formula for building a successful online business.

Discover more about House of Founders here.

Let’s crush it together 🥇

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