Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the verbal content and its impact on panel-basedbusiness advice meetings (springboards) for family business owners and startup entrepreneurs. Further,the study also investigates how panel-based advising assists entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approach – The investigated springboards concern family business owners whorun established firms and startup entrepreneurs who are applying for venture capital. Data from 12 differentspringboards are collected and studied by content analysis.Findings – The outcomes indicate that advising is more constructive for the family business owners than forthe startup entrepreneurs. This can mainly be explained by the rational screening that follows the businessplan concept and group dynamics which appear in these meetings.Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in Sweden and concerns Swedish familybusiness owners and startup entrepreneurs. It reveals different speech patterns that appear during organizedadvice-giving and its implications depending on the type of entrepreneur.Practical implications – This study provides potential input to change the institutional practice ofpanel-based business advice, which will likely support entrepreneurs in their business development andnetwork building.Originality/value – This study is the first to investigate the verbal content in panel-based business advicefor family business owners. Further, it provides a deeper understanding of the institutionalized conditionsthat this kind of advising builds on.