May 25 in General Biz 🙃
What is startup mentor, and importance them?
Recently, I had a long phone meeting with a potential investor from NYC. During our conversation, she asked me about my team. I told her the story of how I found and teamed up with two dozen college students, how I trained them, and naturally, how we settled on the venture studio idea and started CompanyLX. She told me that I am one of the best technical mentors she has come across recently and that I have a natural talent for it. Honestly, I was not aware of it. So this conversation made me think, what is the importance of a mentor?
Starting with the term itself...
📜 Mentorship itself is a deeply valued relationship that predates modern civilization. "Mentor", the term originates in Homer’s Odyssey with the advisor Mentor, who guides Odysseus’ son Telemachus while his father is off fighting in the Trojan War.
But what is it for startups....
📖 A startup mentor is an experienced individual who provides guidance, support, and advice to entrepreneurs, known as the mentee. These mentors typically have expertise in various areas such as business strategy, product development, marketing, finance, or specific industries. In function, they can be a teacher, a coach, a confidant, a role model, a consultant - even a friend.
Cool, tell me more about their importance...
⭐ Gerard Roche wrote in a 1979 issue of the Harvard Business Review that nearly two-thirds of surveyed top executives had a mentor - and those who did reported earning more money and being happier with their careers.
A study on the Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM found that mentorship plays an essential role not only in professional development of a startup but also as essential psychosocial support for the entrepreneurs.
The key areas of mentorship support are:
- Psychological and emotional support in overcoming challenges
- Modeling important aspirational behaviors, values, and attitudes
- Career guidance by questioning and critiquing goals, interests, and decisions
- Skill development through education, training, and evaluation
- Sponsorship by offering public support and advocating for the mentee
🚀 So... Mentors play a unique role in entrepreneurs’ success.
Credit : Image generated by Dall-E 3
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What is startup mentor, and importance them?
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