In your dashboard you will find the right solution for your challenge by browsing through our popular services or searching all service categories. Click on a specific service, to find all experts offering this service. Clicking on a single expert, you get detailed information about their experience, success stories and payment options. To contact them click on the “contact” button. To access some of the premium services you may be asked to upgrade to a PRO-account. You will then be evaluated by one of our experts and verified as investor ready (in case your startup is eligible for private or public funding) or suggested a personalized action plan (in case you have to work on some of your KPI).
How do I find the support I am looking for?
Once you are signed up as a startup you can request a service by browsing through our popular services or searching all service categories. Click on the service you need and select from a number of verified high-level startup experts. You can click on one of them to see why they think they are the right choice and see their experience, success stories and payment options. To contact and start a request just click on the “contact” button.
How can I find the right expert?
Click on the service you need and select from a number of verified high-level startup experts. You can click on one of them to see why they think they are the right choice and see their experience, success stories and payment options. To contact and start a request just click on the “contact” button.
Why can I trust the experts on upvising?
All experts listed on upvising are verified by our team. This means we have checked the veracity of their experience and rated their capacity to provide the specific service. The rating and the project count give you additional prove of the trustworthiness of the expert.
I am looking for investment. Can I find investors on upvising?
upvising is a platform where you can find support for your strategic challenges as a startup. Fundraising is definitely one of the most important challenges every startup faces. But we are not a platform for Angel Investors or VC Funds. You will find help to get ready for fundraising and experts that can find and connect you with investors but you will not find a direct investment. Nevertheless, you will be able to network in our exclusive community and there are Investors in our community that might be interested in starting a conversation. One of our most popular community services is the upvising Pitch Academy where we invite experts and Investors to give quality feedback. The Pitch Academy is a good entry point in a deeper conversation about funding.
How do I negotiate the terms of service?
Our standard workflow will guide you through the negotiation of the terms:
How do I negotiate a fair deal with the expert?
The upvising workflow will guide you to a detailed definition of requirements and a proposal from the expert that fixes quantitative objectives (hours of dedication) or deliverables (documents with a pre-defined content) and does not rely on qualitative milestones that may be subject of discussion. Nevertheless, in case of dispute, the upvising team of experts will intermediate and resolve any possible dispute.
Who decides if the service is completed?
The service is classified as “delivered” once both parties confirm the correct delivery of the service. In case of dispute, the upvising team of experts will intermediate and resolve any possible dispute.
My startup has no liquidity. Can I pay services with shares of my company on upvising?
We developed a fair compensation formula for those cases when a startup needs high level expertise (which is the case with most startups) but cannot pay in cash today. If the expert accepts to be paid in shares this means that he/she accepts payment in the future once you have the money. As this supposes a high risk for the expert, the amount to pay for the service will be multiplied by 5 (representing the probability of failure of a typical startup). The amount is only due once there is cash booked on your bank account either from a capital increase, a public fund or a bank financing. If you agree on a mixed payment (cash & shares), 20% of the amount to pay are due once you accept the proposal and the rest will be multiplied by 3 and will be due after a capital increase, a public funding or a bank financing. In both cases the expert can choose to invest this amount in the company or to be paid out in cash.
We developed a fair compensation formula for those cases when a startup needs high level expertise (which is the case with most startups) but cannot pay in cash today. If the expert accepts to be paid in shares this means that he/she accepts payment in the future once you have the money. As this supposes a high risk for the expert, the amount to pay for the service will be multiplied by 5 (representing the probability of failure of a typical startup). The amount is only due once there is cash booked on your bank account either from a capital increase, a public fund or a bank financing. If you agree on a mixed payment (cash & shares), 20% of the amount to pay are due once you accept the proposal and the rest will be multiplied by 3 and will be due after a capital increase, a public funding or a bank financing. In both cases the expert can choose to invest this amount in the company or to be paid out in cash.
What happens in case of dispute about the quality of my service?
The upvising workflow will guide you to a detailed proposal that fixes quantitative objectives (hours of dedication) or deliverables (documents with a pre-defined content) and does not rely on qualitative milestones that may be subject of discussion. Nevertheless, in case of dispute, the upvising team of experts will intermediate and resolve any possible dispute.
How can I protect my sensitive information and data?
All experts on upvising are verified and trustworthy. Our Terms & Conditions cover the confidentiality of any documents shared in your relationship with the experts. You do not sign an additional NDA or any other document in order to protect sensitive information.
What is the pitch academy and how can I apply?
The upvising Pitch Academy is a popular community service free of charge. You can test your pitch in front of startup experts and Angel Investors as well as fellow founders from our exclusive community and get quality feedback. This is not a startup contest and all emphasis is on generating learnings for everyone and enable networking among the community members. You can apply for the pitch academy by selecting the service (in “popular services” or in “all services/Product & MVP”) and click on “I am interested”. You will then be invited to the next event. Please be aware that there might be many applicants and it could take some time for you to be able to pitch. In any case you can take part as a guest and listen and participate in the feedback sessions.
What can I get out of the 20 min expert feedback?
This is not a pitch but an open discussion on your main challenges at the moment. Take 5 minutes to present yourself and the project and use the rest of the time to get quality feedback and actionable insights. All our experts have proven experience with startups. Choose the ones that fit best to what you are currently looking for (e.g. an expert from your industry or an experienced entrepreneur in your area).
The tag “verified” means that the advisor has passed several quality checks executed by our experienced staff.
The rating depends on the advisor’s specific expertise, the number of services offered as well as activity and response rates.
Matching factor – How does it works?
The Matching factor is based on various factors like countries, industries, skills and others which advisor and startup have in common. The more information is provided by both parties the higher is the chance to have a higher matching factor.
Number of projects – What does it mean?
The number of projects is an information provided by the advisor about how many projects have been successfully completed for a specific service.
VIP indicates that a user has special rights on upvising like access to premium features or free participation at events. The status VIP is available on invitation only.
Why should I upgrade to a PRO-Account?
If you feel ready for funding and you want to access our premium services like "Help with Fundraising" or "Introduction to investors" your startup needs to be evaluated by one of our experts first. We believe that this avoids a loss of time on both sides.
You will then either be verified as investor ready (in case your startup is eligible for private or public funding) or suggested a personalized action plan (in case you have to work on your deck, MVP or some of your KPI).
An upgrade to the PRO-account includes among others the following features:
Go to your Dashboard and click on Add a Service. There you can pick your service from a list of standard packages and then personalize your service offer. Tell us what exactly you want to offer and why you are the right choice. Tell us about your success stories and pick an image that lets your service stand out from the crowd (e.g. a screenshot from your website). Once a Startup requests your service you will be notified including their specification of requirements. If the Startup appeals to you can accept the request and send a proposal.
In your proposal you can fix the price for your service package and indicate if you want to be paid in cash, shares or cash&shares (“shares” meaning a right to cash-in in the future with a multiple).
CASH: If you choose cash the startup has to pay before the start of the project (or in case of several milestones before every new milestone). The money will be withheld by upvising until both parts confirm that the success criteria are met. upvising will deduct 10% commission on the total amount. Then the resting amount will be transferred to your bank account.
CASH & SHARES: If you choose cash & shares the startup has to pay upfront the amount of 20% of the total price agreed and the resting amount will be multiplied by 3 and is due after the next financing round. The money will be withheld by upvising until both parts confirm that the success criteria are met. upvising will deduct 10% commission on the total amount. Then the resting amount will be transferred to your bank account.
SHARES: If you choose to be paid in shares the amount of the total price will be multiplied by 5 and is due after the next financing round.
The pay out of the value of the “shares” is due once the cash of any financing round, public funding or bank financing is on the startup’s bank account. upvising will deduct 10% commission on the total amount. Then the resting amount will be transferred to your bank account.
In your proposal you can fix the price for your service package and indicate if you want to be paid in cash, shares or cash&shares (“shares” meaning a right to cash-in in the future with a multiple). Your “shares” represent a right to collect in the future and for the higher risk you will be awarded with a multiple of 5 on your investment of experience, time and network. You will be granted a right to invest any amount up to your full compensation into the company or receive the amount in cash (plus VAT where applicable).
Many startups want my 20-minutes feedback. Why should I offer this?
Every signed-up expert is automatically listed in the community service offer “20-minutes feedback from expert”. Consider that this is a very popular service for startups and gives you the chance to select those startups that look interesting to you and start a conversation. This session is a good starting point to sell your services and is never a loss of time. You will be always in control and only have to accept those requests that really appeal to you.
How do I negotiate the terms of service?
Our standard workflow will guide you through the negotiation of the terms:
How much should I ask for as a compensation?
Consider that you are competing with other experts the compensation you ask for is an important criterion for startups to select you. On the other side upvising is not a platform for low cost consulting. We expect our startup experts to add substantial value to the project and therefore they should be paid accordingly. We suggest that sharing the risk of failure with the startups is a good way to show that you are confident in a successful outcome. Therefore, the form of payment (e.g. accepting to condition some of the payment to a financing round) could be a good way to stand out and compete against other offers.
How does upvising guarantee the payment?
The startup has to pay upfront the amount due for each milestone. upvising will withhold the payment of the startup until both parties confirm the successful achievement of the milestone and will then transfer the amount to the expert (net after charging the 10% transaction fee).
How does upvising guarantee the compensation with shares?
When we talk about “shares” we mean a right to collect the amount of the project value multiplied by 5 (in case of payment in shares) and by 3 (in case of payment in cash + shares) after a successful financing round, public funding or bank financing. This right will be granted in a contract that the startup has to sign before you start working.
How can I compete with other advisors regarding my service offer?
upvising is a platform for high quality services that make a difference in your success story. Therefore, the main criterion for selecting an advisor will not be price. We expect our startup experts to add substantial value to the project and therefore they should be paid accordingly. We suggest that sharing the risk of failure with the startups is a good way to show that you are confident in a successful outcome. Therefore, the form of payment (e.g. accepting to condition some of the payment to a financing round) could be a good way to stand out and compete against other offers. Apart from that you can stand out by talking about your success stories and by uploading a meaningful image (e.g. a screenshot of your website or an example of your success stories) in order to distinguish your offer visually.
What happens after a startup accepts my proposal?
Once your proposal is accepted you will receive a contract with the requirements and the terms of service that you can sign digitally. The startup will be charged the amount of cash agreed (if there is any) which is then withheld by upvising in an escrow account until the agreed milestone is achieved or the agreed service is delivered.
Who decides if the service is delivered?
The service is classified as “delivered” once both parties confirm the correct delivery of the service. In case of dispute, the upvising team of experts will intermediate and resolve any possible dispute.
What happens in case of dispute about the quality of my service?
The upvising workflow will guide you to a detailed proposal that fixes quantitative objectives (hours of dedication) or deliverables (documents with a pre-defined content) and does not rely on qualitative milestones that may be subject of discussion. Nevertheless, in case of dispute, the upvising team of experts will intermediate and resolve any possible dispute.
What shall I do in the 20 min feedback session?
The idea of the feedback session is not a typical startup pitch but to listen to a short introduction (5 min), filter out the main challenge the startup is currently facing and to give actionable advise. upvising will provide you with guidelines for the 20 min feedback once you accept the request of a startup. Consider that this free service offer is very popular and provides a very good entry point to sell your services and establish a relationship with the founders.
What is the pitch academy? Why should I attend?
The pitch academy is one of the most popular community services where startups can test their pitches in front of fellow founders and startup experts. They get qulity feedback, make valuable contacts and receive actionable insights. As an expert you get access to top startups and the academy is a good starting point to sell your services. If you wish to attend a pitch academy you only have to express your wish to attend (my services > pitch academy > click on “I am interested”) and wait for an invitation to the next event.
The tag “verified” means that the advisor has passed several quality checks executed by our experienced staff.
The rating depends on the advisor’s specific expertise, the number of services offered as well as activity and response rates.
Matching factor – How does it works?
The Matching factor is based on various factors like countries, industries, skills and others which advisor and startup have in common. The more information is provided by both parties the higher is the chance to have a higher matching factor.
Number of projects – What does it mean?
The number of projects is an information provided by the advisor about how many projects have been successfully completed for a specific service.
VIP indicates that a user has special rights on upvising like access to premium features or free participation at events. The status VIP is available on invitation only.
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