Starting a new business comes with many challenges. For founders who have never created a startup before, the work can be especially difficult without a mentor. Having someone to ask for advice or guidance when you’re learning how to establish a brand or find investors can make the process that much easier.
But mentorship isn’t just beneficial to founders. For employees who join startups, access to mentoring can help the employee learn the ropes quickly, avoiding repeats of past mistakes. It can also empower a startup team and instill confidence, leading to other perks, like boosted morale and productivity.
Mentors for startups are invaluable. TechCrunch studied New York tech startups, collecting data on tech startups for 10 years and interviewing over 700 startup founders. The study revealed that 33% of the startups that became top performers, such as Shutterstock and Tumblr, had mentorship from founders of other top-performing companies. Only 10% of other startups without such mentorship became top performers.
Clearly, mentors for startups can benefit everyone on the team, from the founder to the newest hires, in many ways. Find out the biggest benefit of mentorship, plus learn how to find a mentor or even start your own startup mentorship program.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Startup Mentor?
- Benefits of Mentors for Startups
- How To Find Startup Mentors
- How to Establish a Startup Mentorship Program
- Find Success With the Support of Mentors for Startups
Starting a new business comes with many challenges. For founders who have never created a startup before, the work can be especially difficult without a mentor. Having someone to ask for advice or guidance when you’re learning how to establish a brand or find investors can make the process that much easier.
But mentorship isn’t just beneficial to founders. For employees who join startups, access to mentoring can help the employee learn the ropes quickly, avoiding repeats of past mistakes. It can also empower a startup team and instill confidence, leading to other perks, like boosted morale and productivity.
Mentors for startups are invaluable. TechCrunch studied New York tech startups, collecting data on tech startups for 10 years and interviewing over 700 startup founders. The study revealed that 33% of the startups that became top performers, such as Shutterstock and Tumblr, had mentorship from founders of other top-performing companies. Only 10% of other startups without such mentorship became top performers.
Clearly, mentors for startups can benefit everyone on the team, from the founder to the newest hires, in many ways. Find out the biggest benefit of mentorship, plus learn how to find a mentor or even start your own startup mentorship program.
What Is a Startup Mentor?
A mentor for a startup is a person who uses their own experience, skills, and knowledge to provide advice and guidance to a startup founder or employee. Startup mentors also often open up their network to connect startup founders to other experts to help out along the way.
A mentor can help a startup in many ways. They may provide a listening ear when a startup founder needs to practice a pitch before meeting with investors, or maybe a mentor introduces a founder to investors. A mentor might offer software recommendations when a startup is looking to set up a payment system for their business.
Mentors of startup employees can help to guide new hires through difficult tasks at a startup. Working for a startup is a unique experience, as employees usually need to help out with tasks outside of their skill set. A mentor can help the employee learn new skills and complete tasks accurately and confidently.
Founder Mentors
Startup founders will benefit immensely from finding a mentor, especially for founders who are creating a business for the first time. With a mentor, a founder doesn’t have to find all the answers on their own. If they have questions on the next steps to finding an investor or how to pitch, a mentor can offer tips and advice based on their experiences.
That’s not to say that founders won’t still face some challenges, but mentors can clear the path of many obstacles that they themselves may have faced in the past. This can save founders time, money, and stress.
Employee Mentors
The benefits of having mentors for startup founders are clear, but many companies may not think about offering mentoring to employees. Yet mentorship for everyone at a startup can improve the business’s overall success.
Mentorship for startup employees can lead to higher salaries, more promotions, and improvements in employee satisfaction. Employees with mentors are promoted five times more often than people without mentors, Forbes reported.
In a study by Moving Ahead, a development and diversity organization, and Deloitte, 87% of mentors and mentees feel empowered by the mentoring relationship.
Benefits of Mentors for Startups
Building a business requires more than just funding and a dream. You need a wide range of skills, a lot of knowledge to navigate the processes and legalities of running a business, and a network of people you can turn to when you are looking to find investors or hire new team members.
Mentors for startups can help with just about every aspect of a startup. With a mentor for your startup, you can:
Get Support
When you need to launch the business, apply to an accelerator program, or put together a pitch for investors, having a mentor to cheer you on along the way can boost your confidence.
Running a startup involves long days and a lot of responsibilities. Just having someone there to listen to you vent about a stressful work situation or celebrate a success can make working at a startup a better experience.
Mentors can also support you by coaching you through difficult situations, so you don’t make a huge mistake that could cost you the business.
“When creating a startup, if you don’t have anyone to lean on or ask for advice, it becomes not only a very lonely and stressful project, but dangerous as well because you can easily lose a lot of money by taking the wrong steps,” Michael Nova, director of Nova Custom Printing, said.
Mentorship offers support for startup employees, too. If your new hires haven’t worked at a startup before, it can be intimidating to work long hours and take on multiple roles. Employees can rely on a mentor to answer questions and offer guidance as they adapt.
Gain Knowledge
One of the biggest benefits of having a mentor is accessing their wealth of knowledge. A good startup mentor has founded their own companies in the past, so they know how the process works. Ideally, you want a mentor that works within the same industry, too. With this knowledge and experience, mentors can pass what they’ve learned along to you.
“Based on the results I’ve seen, mentorship is a game-changer for startup employees. It offers the opportunity to tap into the expertise of seasoned professionals who have successfully navigated the challenges of building their own businesses,” Bryan Clayton, CEO of GreenPal, told The Hustle. “They have tested various strategies and experimented with different approaches, giving them unique insights that can help you avoid common pitfalls and make informed decisions.”
Upskill
As a founder, you may know a lot about sales and customer service, but social media and marketing aren’t your strong suits. Especially in the beginning stages of the startup, funding may be too tight to hire agencies or additional employees to help out with these parts of the business. Founders and early employees will have to figure out how to do it all.
This is where a mentor can come in. Mentors can help you learn more about various areas of running a business based on their own skills and experiences.
Broaden Your Network
It’s not always about what you know; it’s also about who you know. A well-connected mentor is a huge asset to a startup. When it’s time to hire contractors or employees, look for business partners or potential clients, or connect to investors, a mentor can offer those introductions.
“Startups need access to more than capital. They need guidance, expertise, emotional support, and, most importantly, access to networks,” Hillary Frank, a startup investor and chief platform officer at Vive Collective, told The Hustle. “Mentors can connect founders to a vast network of resources and opportunities, which can be especially valuable when they are within similar verticals/industries.”
Access Additional Resources
Whether it’s finding the best chatbot for your website, a payment processor with the lowest fees, or a reliable email marketing platform, a mentor can offer recommendations and referrals to the tools and services that will help your business workflows and processes.
How To Find Startup Mentors
In school, you may have found mentorship from teachers, professors, counselors, or advisers. In the startup space, you can similarly look to leaders in your industry when trying to find a good mentor.
To find a mentor:
1. Look Within the Company
Employees may be able to turn to managers for mentorship, and serial entrepreneurs who have helped create other companies in the past can guide co-founders who are starting a company for the first time.
2. Tap Into Your Network
If you already have colleagues who have gone on to start their own companies or work for startups, you can reach out to set up a time to meet and talk about their experiences. You might ask directly about mentorship, or it could happen organically through ongoing meetings.
3. Attend Industry Events
Your mentor will ideally be a fellow founder in the same industry to be able to provide the most knowledge and support. A great way to find like-minded entrepreneurs is to attend industry events. Be sure to pack business cards to share with others you connect with during each event.
4. Sign Up for a Mentor Online
Some startup consulting firms offer online mentorship services for founders who want help navigating the next steps of their business, whether that’s nailing down some marketing messaging or entering the next round of funding.
While there are many startup mentorship programs online, some popular options include GrowthMentor, Founders Network, Startup bootcamp, and Techstars.
Startup accelerator programs, like Y Combinator and 500 Global, also offer mentorship to participants as they are building out their businesses during their time in the incubator.
5. Start a Startup Mentorship Program
Startup mentorship programs are common in many top businesses. According to Forbes, 84% of Fortune 500 companies have established mentorship programs. All the Fortune 50 companies offer mentoring. If a startup company wants its employees to have access to mentors, consider setting up a mentorship program that connects founders, executives, or managers to new hires.
How To Establish a Startup Mentorship Program
According to LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report, mentorship is the top priority for learning and development programs for businesses this year. By establishing your own startup mentorship program, you can get ahead of the curve and help every member of the team feel included and supported.
1. Define Your Mission
A startup mentorship program can have different goals. It may be to train new hires and help them learn from leaders, or you could offer a development program that helps employees build their skills. Decide what you want out of the mentorship program and what the desired outcomes may look like. You can also survey employees to see what they hope to accomplish with a mentor to help shape your program.
2. Pair Employees With Mentors
Once you set goals for your mentorship program, it’s time to start pairing mentors with mentees. Newer startups may have limited team members to pair up, and one leader may be mentoring multiple employees. Be sure your leaders have the capacity to take on multiple employees, and make sure there are enough mentors available for anyone who wants to be a mentee. You don’t want to leave anyone behind.
When pairing mentors and mentees, keep in mind their job roles, skill sets, and goals. Again, this is where surveys can come in handy to determine what employees expect from mentorship and which mentor can provide the best support based on these factors.
3. Set Up Meetings
Offer a schedule, where mentors and mentees can sign up to take a meeting room and work on the goals outlined in step one. Employees may go through a training session or a skill-building workshop during this time, or they might have Q&A sessions with their mentors.
4. Collect Feedback
Make sure mentors and mentees are both benefiting from their experiences in mentorship. You can send out surveys or have meetings with participants in the program to find out how things are progressing. Adapt the program to improve on any concerns employees bring up in their feedback.
Find Success With the Support of Mentors for Startups
As you can see, mentors for startups can open up doors for founders and employees alike. Major hurdles can whittle down to speed bumps with the guidance of a great mentor, and successes can feel that much sweeter when you can share them with someone you look up to. Whether you seek outside support or you establish your own startup mentorship program, mentoring can benefit every level of your startup and navigate you down the road to success.
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