What Strategic Advisers Can Do For You

Advisers have a stake in your business's success and take on the responsibility of corporate governance.

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When you start a business, you rarely do it alone. Even if you don't have a partner, you seek outside advice from legal, financial, and industry experts and from the people who have been in your shoes before. Some of these people, especially those who advise you early on, will end up on your corporate board, as advisers who have a steak in your business's success and take on the responsibility of corporate governance.

Obviously, your corporate board is incredibly important to your company for a number of reasons; but as you grow your business, you also continue to meet other really interesting people who have valuable opinions and sometimes even influence in the world. At Happy Family, we have created a separate board for these people: our Board of Advisers. This board serves as a great tool for us to formalize a partnership between the company and people who genuinely believe in our mission. Our Board of Advisers consists of celebrated chef and world policy wonk Tom Colicchio, Lauren Bush Lauren of FEED Foundation, and Gary Hirshberg, a true pioneer in the world of sustainable agriculture and socially responsible business, just to name a few.

All of these people are great to call up and pick their brains or brainstorm ways to make a bigger impact on the world. More than this, though, they are innovators and thought leaders that the public needs to hear from. So, this fall, we launched Happy TV, a series of interviews with yours truly and select advisory board members. Our first episode aired in the middle of October, with Lauren Bush Lauren. As part of our partnership with Lauren and FEED, Happy committed to donate $1 (up to $25,000) for each click on the video, which focuses on the importance of nutrition and how FEED is working to feed hungry people in the world.

We also just finished filming our next episode, an interview with Tom Colicchio, which is set to air later this fall and focuses on feeding our children nutritious foods. And Happy TV will continue to share the insights of many of these industry leaders in future episodes.

Putting together a board of advisers has been a valuable resource both for me personally and for Happy Family. It's just one more way that Happy has innovated in its space--it's not just about innovative product but innovative ideas and sharing those ideas with the world.

Shazi Visram is the founder and CEO of HAPPYFAMILY, the leading premium brand of baby and toddler meals in the U.S. HAPPYFAMILY is sold in over 13,000 stores with 9 different lines of optimally delicious organic foods. @shaziv