Specialists are the depth that founders don’t know they need until they need it.
You have a specialty you know cold: finance, legal, growth, regulatory, hardware, GTM, or something else specific. You’ve worked across companies as an employee, a consultant, or a board member, and your judgement in your area is what people pay for when they pay you.
Most senior consultants have plenty of expertise and not enough of the right work. The companies that can pay your rate often don’t need what you do; the ones that need it often can’t pay. You spend more time finding work than doing it.
“You write proposals for startups that can’t afford you, and lose to less-capable competitors with better decks. We turn your contribution into your customer acquisition.”— Annette Lyn O’Neil, Specialist & Board Member
The Fellow backing a Supported Company knows the founder and the situation. When the founder hits a problem that needs your specialty, the Fellow introduces you with context. The match is deliberate.
Engagements vary in shape: paid retainers when the work is ongoing, equity stakes when the involvement goes deeper, pro-bono early-stage support that often turns into longer relationships. Founders refer you forward, and Fellows see your work and bring you to other companies that need it.
Joining the directory makes you visible to Fellows across the four countries where Venture.Community operates. Fellows in those regions match you to founders based on the directory and your prior work. When a founder needs depth outside your specialty, another Specialist plugs in alongside you.
We ask responsiveness, quality, and fair engagement. When a Fellow flags a founder who needs your expertise, you respond on a reasonable timeline and your work meets the standard you’d hold yourself to in a direct retainer. Your fees match your time’s worth. You don’t take opportunistic equity or leverage from founders going through a hard moment.
Most Supported Companies have engaged at least one Specialist from the directory through a Fellow-mediated match. You can talk to any current Specialist about how their engagements went.
Joining the Specialist directory
No entrepreneur builds alone here.
