200. Kevan Lee on part-time advisory work, mentorship, equity compensation, and more
Oct 7, 2022
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Former VP of Marketing at Buffer and current Senior VP of Marketing at Oyster, Kevan Lee shares his insights on advisory work, mentorship, equity compensation, and more. He discusses his approach to advisory work while having a full-time gig, his pricing strategies, and his experience with equity compensation discussions. Kevan also talks about packaging his ideas into a playbook for his paying subscribers and the importance of mentorship in advisory work.
Mentorship is a valuable form of learning and development in the field of marketing.
Paid mentorship can offer specialized knowledge and personalized guidance.
Mentorship can be transformative, providing opportunities for personal growth and valuable insights.
Deep dives
Mentorship and Giving Back
Kevin Lee is driven by his core value of giving back and helping others. He believes in the power of mentorship and the impact it can have on individuals. Having personally benefited from mentorship throughout his career, Kevin understands the value of having someone guide and support you. He also recognizes the privilege he has and aims to level the playing field by offering mentorship to those in need. Kevin sees mentorship as an essential form of learning and development, particularly in the field of marketing where guidance is not always readily available. By sharing his knowledge and experiences, Kevin hopes to make a difference in the lives of aspiring marketers.
Paid vs. Free Mentorship
Kevin believes in the importance of both paid and free mentorship. While traditional mentorship tends to be non-transactional and free, Kevin also recognizes the value of paid mentorship in certain cases. He believes that the decision to charge for mentorship should be driven by the nature of the mentor's expertise and the specific needs of the mentee. Paid mentorship can provide a deeper level of commitment and personalized guidance, especially from experienced professionals who offer specialized knowledge and insights. However, Kevin emphasizes that mentorship should always prioritize the mentee's growth and learning, irrespective of whether it is paid or free.
The Impact of Mentoring
Kevin has experienced the positive impact of mentoring throughout his career. From early on, he sought guidance from knowledgeable individuals who helped shape his professional growth. He believes that mentorship can be transformative, offering opportunities for individuals to learn from the experiences of others, challenge their perspectives, and gain valuable insights. Kevin values the personal connection and mutual learning that mentorship provides. Whether it's mentoring students at the university or supporting marketers at different stages of their careers, Kevin finds fulfillment in helping others navigate their professional journeys and achieve their goals.
Flexibility in Advisory Work
The speaker shares their experience with different types of advisory work, highlighting the importance of flexibility in pricing and engagement models. They discuss examples of project-based work and light advisory roles, emphasizing the value of aligning the engagement with personal interests. The speaker also touches on the topic of pricing and shares their approach of starting with a high anchor price but being open to adjusting it based on the client's situation.
Balancing Compensation with Equity
The speaker talks about their experience with compensation models, including discussions around equity. They mention their struggles in navigating equity discussions and highlight the importance of both cash and equity in compensation arrangements. The speaker expresses a preference for a hybrid approach that offers flexibility to switch between cash and equity based on the company's circumstances. They also discuss the concept of value-based pricing and the need for advisors to come up with equity offers rather than burdening the clients with that task.
I recently interviewed Kevan Lee, the former VP of Marketing at Buffer and currently Senior VP of Marketing at Oyster.
Kevan is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to leading tech startups to significant growth. To give you an example, he helped Buffer go from $5m to $20m in annual revenue and 100,000 new customers acquisitions per month.
In his first year at Oyster, he helped the company 20x its revenue and build a marketing team comprising over 50 people. He's also involved as an educator and advisor with Reforge, On Deck, as well as a past contributor to ProductLed, and more.
In this interview, Kevan and I explore the realm of advisory work.
We cover topics like:
How he approaches advisory work while having a full-time gig
How he views mentorship and why it's important to him
How he prices his advice—and what he's learning in the process
His experience on the buyer side of equity for advice compensation discussions
How he packages his ideas into a playbook that he shares with paying Substack subscribers
And a lot more...
This conversation was a fun exploration of the world of advisory work. And like all of us, Kevan is still figuring out what works best for him.
