Mentors Matter - But Why?

One of the few certainties of being a startup founder is that there will always be someone who has tread a similar ground and has been successful. There may also be someone who had to tread that same ground several times before finding success. Such person should be your go-to as a model of perseverance. No matter how great your business plan is or how much anticipation you are able to generate for your startup, there is tremendous value to seeking mentorship. 

Dr. Jeffrey Cornwall, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University, gives some extremely strong advice about mentorship as the cornerstone of success as an entrepreneur. Here are some of the approaches to mentorship that he elucidates that may not be commonly thought of:

A Mentor Does Not Have to Be From Your IndustryCornwall notes that as a mentor, he has been out of formal industry for sixteen years, meaning that he is certainly out of touch with the ins and outs of industries such as the web. What he can offer instead is just as valuable as industry-specific advice: financing, partnerships, ethics, and all of the timeless challenges that entrepreneurs of all stripes must face.

It Pays to Have More than One MentorWhile Cornwall notes that he is a “process mentor,” one whose value comes from instilling the intangibles in his mentees, it is ideal for a new entrepreneur to seek a “content mentor” (an industry expert) as well.  There is no hiding from that fact that it pays to have an additional mentor who is a veteran and hopefully visionary of your industry. There are generally too many issues to navigate in any market to start out without industry-specific guidance. 

Mentorship is a Two-Way StreetBoth the mentor and the mentee gain from the relationship, as the mentor often sees the mentee going over the same ground and feels a sense of empathy. Furthermore, given that this relationship is a business relationship as much as a personal one, the mentor has an implicit financial stake in the mentee, and vice-versa.

UFOstart values the roles of mentors greatly. Every start up adds a mentor to his round, who will advise them on round set up and the concept behind UFOstart. Also, it will be their task to review and approve the round before it is launched. This not only gives start ups the security of mentorship but also provides the mentors with a share of the UFOstart business model. 

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