Informal advisory board: common?

I am making an angel investment into a startup, and as the industry is different from mine and as I'd like to get plugged into that industry, I told the startup founder what I could offer as an advisor and asked if he'd be interested in having me as a member of an advisory board.

The founder said, "Absolutely! You'd be great and I'll get you connected with some others who are helping me out." The founder then sent me his pitch deck and said that I could use it when talking to potential investors.

Since then (about 2 weeks ago), nothing.

I would expect that an advisor would have a written advisor agreement with the company, specifying meetings, duties, etc., and including a nondisclosure agreement. I haven't received one.

Is it common to have an advisory board that is so informal? Or does this founder not really know how to run a startup? I'm thinking the latter. (He's also wanting to raise capital within six months and has no clue about whether he'll issue equity or debt, for example.)

Thanks.

There's a difference between an advisor and an advisory board. Are you supposed to be an advisor or a member of an advisory board? Advisors can indeed be informal. Our startup has many advisors, and we have no formal agreements with any of them as to meetings, duties, etc. When we have a question, concern or simply want to run something by them we reach out to them. We'll also meet with them periodically. Since it's not an advisory board, we don't meet with them as a group. This is very common among startups.

I don't see anything in your question that indicates that the entrepreneur has any immediate action to take. What exactly were you expecting from him? Other than possibly making introductions for you, there's not much more for him to do at this time.

And this leads me to something that struck me as very odd in your question. It almost sounds like you are putting the entrepreneur to work for you to get you connected to the industry, when it should be the other way around. An angel investor should bring with him industry connections and expertise, but you don't have that.

I have to say, on the surface this sounds like a bad deal for the entrepreneur.

If you were expecting something from him, you should communicate that to him.