Startup & Scaleup Advisory
Independent advisory and Non-Executive Director services for founders who want to build something investable — not just something busy.
Most founders dismiss governance as a large-company concern.
It isn't. Governance is how decisions get made, who is accountable, and whether your business can attract capital and talent at scale. Investors assess it instinctively — long before due diligence begins.
Distilled from the Wates Corporate Governance Principles and calibrated for lean, fast-moving businesses. Each principle maps to a discussion question your investors are already asking — whether or not they've told you.
Wates: Board defines company purpose; values and strategy align to it.
A founder who can hold a room and articulate in one sentence why the company exists, who it serves and what problem it solves — in a way an investor would fund.
"Can you tell me your purpose in 30 seconds — and does every hire reinforce it?"
Wates: Balance of skills, independence and experience around the board.
Identifying and filling the critical skill gaps around you — through advisors, NEDs or mentors — before investors ask why they aren't there.
"What experience do you currently lack, and who are you actively recruiting to fill that gap?"
Wates: Clear accountability, decision rights and governance processes.
Clarity on who decides what, how co-founder disputes are resolved, and whether your shareholder agreements and cap table are investor-ready.
"If your co-founder left tomorrow, would the business keep running — and is that documented?"
Wates: Long-term value creation balanced against risk oversight.
Actively identifying and managing the top three risks that could kill the business — not just the opportunities you'd prefer to focus on.
"What's the single biggest thing that could end this business in 12 months — and what have you done about it?"
Wates: Remuneration aligned to long-term value creation.
Equity, option schemes and founder salary structures that motivate the team, are fair to investors and pass due diligence scrutiny at the next round.
"Does your option pool and equity structure incentivise the behaviours that will get you to your next milestone?"
Wates: Meaningful engagement with all key stakeholders.
Regular, transparent communication with investors, key customers and the team — proactively sharing bad news as well as good. The trust dividend compounds.
"How do you communicate progress and setbacks to investors — and would they agree with your answer?"
A formal board seat providing independent challenge, strategic oversight and governance discipline. Structured around the Six Principles framework, with quarterly governance reviews and standing agenda items that keep your board investor-ready at all times.
Facilitate and chair your advisory board, ensure the right voices are in the room, and keep sessions focused on the decisions that matter. For founders who have advisors but need structure.
One-to-one advisory using the Piql Clarity framework as a structured conversation guide. Intensive, direct, and built around the six governance dimensions most likely to be tested at your next funding milestone.
During due diligence, the first document a lawyer requests is the shareholders' agreement and cap table. More deals fall over at this stage than founders expect. Governance readiness is fundraising readiness.
The Piql Clarity Founder Compatibility Test is a structured diagnostic — not a personality quiz. It maps your current posture across the six governance dimensions and tells you where to focus your next 90 days.
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Many founders build advisory boards full of supporters rather than challengers. Investors see through this immediately. One well-chosen independent voice with relevant sector experience is worth five enthusiastic cheerleaders.
Piql Clarity brings independent challenge — not validation. If you want someone to tell you your idea is brilliant, we're not the right fit.
Piql Clarity is the advisory practice of Luke Wates — founder, operator, and former large-scale property portfolio builder who sold a 30-unit HMO portfolio in 2022 and subsequently spent two years building Piql Ltd, an RWA tokenisation platform for real estate-backed loans.
That experience — navigating regulatory complexity, raising without a track record, building technical teams from scratch, and operating as a solo founder — informs every advisory engagement. The Piql Clarity framework isn't academic. It comes from having asked and failed to answer these questions under pressure.
The Founder Governance Framework is adapted from the Wates Principles for Large Private Companies, distilled into six actionable dimensions calibrated for lean, fast-moving businesses where every hour must earn its keep.
Complete the five-minute diagnostic on Typeform. It maps your governance posture across the six dimensions and surfaces the gaps most likely to matter at your current and next stage.
A 45-minute call using your diagnostic results as the starting point. We'll identify the two or three areas of highest-priority governance risk and agree whether there's a productive engagement to be had.
The first structured advisory session using the Piql Clarity Founder Governance Framework as a facilitated discussion guide. You'll leave with a RAG-rated self-assessment and a prioritised 90-day governance plan.
Quarterly governance reviews, board representation, or on-demand sessions — structured around your funding timeline and the milestones that matter. Revisit the framework at every funding milestone.
Take the Founder Compatibility Test and know exactly where you stand — before your next investor conversation.
Take the Founder Test