[inuhj]

As a somewhat experienced CEO it sounds like you're asking for something for nothing. You get the financial gains and the mentor gets to feel emotionally fulfilled? This is business. If you want people invested to the point that they're making a meaningful impact you need to compensate them and bring them in full-time.

Furthermore, it sounds like you've encountered the biggest challenge a CEO faces which is how to successfully go about talent acquisition. To me it sounds like you really should be looking for a cofounder.

If you're dead set on mentorship there are CEO mentorship groups out there such as Vistage. I've never attended but I can imagine it's useful.

[nyrulez]

Are you suggesting an advisor? I guess mentor/advisor are the same thing and I am definitely open to any kind of value sharing - but the question of finding a good person to advice you remains :) I'll check out Vistage - thanks for the reco.

I am looking for a non-tech cofounder but I feel it's not the same thing. Why would a successful entrepreneur who is already running a multi-million dollar company leave everything and become a full time cofounder for a first timer and unproven venture?

[inuhj]

I'm suggesting focusing on a cofounder instead of an advisor.

No one would leave a successful venture for an unproven one. But there's lots of serial entrepreneurs who have already exited and are floating around looking for interesting opportunities. Your startup is niche so I'm not sure you'd find someone with relevant experience that easily.

This is unsolicited but my strategy if I was in your shoes would be to talk to people whose services you would be replacing. Those would likely be the Wall street investors. Get honest feedback early if your product could compete with their services. At the end of every discussion you have ask them if they can give you names of anyone else who might be interested in seeing your demo or potentially joining you. In other comments you say it's too early for VC...that may be true but getting introductions and asking for introductions to potential cofounders could be very fruitful.

You have a really impressive pedigree so I would always lead with that in any conversation. I'd also update your LinkedIn to reflect what your accomplishments were at Google instead of what your department achieved. Add your new startup to your LinkedIn. It's work but I'd also recommend getting professional headshots taken for your LinkedIn. This stuff is important. It's not because people can't see through it...it's because it's a negative signal if you don't do it.

[nyrulez]

Thanks - this is quite helpful and appreciate the kind words. You're right - I have approached some targeted folks for co-founder and it's been harder for this kind of domain. The other issue is that unless it does something (apart from claims), it's harder for some folks to wrap their head around the value prop, see it's actual use and get excited about it.

I am trying to get to a usable working version this month and then I will start contacting more folks as you recommend. The search engine is designed to be complementary so it gets layered on top of other ways people are used to looking at the stock market.

I have spoken to many in last 1-2 months and have learned a lot from them. At some point though I feel discussions aren't very productive if there isn't a clear product/service to talk about. It has been a tough balance to strike - ton of discussions with potential parties vs actual product building at this early stage.

Hence the search for a good advisor/mentor to help me prioritize different things well and not make mistakes as an engineer. The advise here is helping though :)