Why Startups Need Mentor
Find out Why Startups Need Mentor ?
Many ventures are started by solopreneurs. Startup entrepreneurs’ life is tough.
They face enormous challenges in running and growing a startup – be it raising capital, hiring a team, or acquiring customers. An effective way to overcome these challenges lies in finding motivated and compatible mentors who can provide the critical skills, knowledge and motivation that are needed.
“Simply put, good mentors help plug gaps in startups’ knowledge and are hence invaluable,” - Siddharth Bannerjee, researcher, digital startups at Nesta...
-Process
Mentoring is a process of guiding someone, especially a startup, to succeed. The right fit between a mentor and a mentee is a must. There are organizations who support the mentoring process with a preselected list of mentors. A support structure is created for mentor -mentee to interact and keep track of progress.
Mentor Profile
Mentors can be successful entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists ,Senior corporate members or seasoned academicians with mentoring and incubation background.
What can mentee expec?
As an entrepreneur, you may be wondering: ‘how exactly will a mentor add value to my company?’
1. Mentor will hold a mirror to your business
2. Based on mentor’s experience better insights on issues
3. Feedback on communication skills, team management, employee engagement, technology issues, change management and honing leadership skills
4. Learning from mentor specific skills and knowledge that are relevant to professional and personal goals
5. Access to Mentor’s network
6. Identifying critical issues and facilitating call to action plans
Mentors Benefit
1. Recognition as coach and guide
2. Societal Responsibility
3. Gaining knowledge and enhancing professional skills
4. Expanding Network
Why Startups Need Mentor- Tips for effective mentoring
1. Establish rapport with mentee
2. Identify key issues
3. Arrive at workable solutions
4. Draw up an action plan
5. Setup a review format
6. Decide on frequency of interactions
7. Time bound engagement
8. Avoid the temptation of getting into hard core operations of mentee.
Why Startups Need Mentor- Major Gain for Mentee
Biggest door will open: As a startup you will definitely look for better networking in corporate world, Here, a mentor’s references would be biggest addon to your startup. From Venture capitalist to legal barriers a mentor's network will give a boost to your startup.
Why Startups Need Mentor- Stages of Startup and Mentoring
The type of mentoring support depends on the stage at which mentee’s business is in. Early stages may require handholding, review of business model and lead generation strategy. During the growth stage and maturity, it may require support to establish processes and systems.
Why Startups Need Mentor national Entrepreneurs Network-NEN
NEN has created a cloud platform which has a list of mentors and mentees. This is a sound platform for any startup needing a mentor.
They have established robust mentoring processes and thus provide an important platform in the entrepreneurial eco system.
Why Startups Need Mentor- Conclusion
A good mentor can add enormous value to an enterprise. If an entrepreneur can benefit from mentoring, his/her chances of success (and the scale of success) are very likely to be higher than otherwise.
The mentee should not expect the mentor to micro manage the venture. The mentor should inspire and simulate solutions from the mentee.
Having a mentor is not a sign of weakness; it shows you are smart enough and are driven enough to succeed. - John Rampton- Entrepreneur& Investor
Pick a right mentor. Grow your Business. - NEN
