As part of my preparation for the Mixergy Funding Forum, today I talked with Eric Pollard, founder of VentureAssist.

One of Eric’s suggestions for startups is to look for advisers before looking for funding. Seek out people that you trust in your vertical to help you think through your idea. Then get advisers who have been through the funding process a few times to help you figure if you have a plan that can be funded and how to present that plan to investors.

Eric suggests these advisers:

David Berkus – Chairman Emeritus of the Tech Coast Angles

Lynn Foster Jr. – Emerging Technologies Director at Greenberg Traurig, LLP

I’ll add Michael Jones, founder of Userplane.

Who else would make a good adviser for startups?

Who else should I talk with to prepare for this forum?

[Emad, thanks for referring me to Eric.]