I'm a first-time founder, and someone who used to be uncoachable, and I've recognized that it had stifled my growth in some areas. I'm opened to being mentored a bit more day-by-day because I'm acknowledging that I to get to where I'm going, I need professional guidance. At the same time, I'm only open to being helped by some people, especially those who have been through something similar to what I'm going through. And I feel like you don't want to mentor just anyone either – they need to be worth your time and personal investment, too.
I'm curious what would make it worth it for you to be open to mentoring first-time founders like us or otherwise?
Ex-Founders: What would make it worth it for you to mentor first-time founders?
byu/inbetween_therapy inEntrepreneur
Posted by inbetween_therapy
5 Comments
I don’t want to. You have to fail once because you don’t know what you don’t know and aren’t willing to learn what to watch out for. I’ve gotten tired of talking to people who are uncoachable.
i’d rather give advice for free than sit on a million dollar deal – go for it!
Most founders who offer to mentor want two things: someone who actually executes on advice (not just collects it) and someone who brings energy to the relationship rather than just taking from it.
I mentor maybe 3-4 founders at any given time and the ones that stick are the ones who come back with “I tried what you suggested, here’s what happened, and here’s my specific follow-up question.” The worst mentees are the ones who ask for 30 minutes then disappear until they need something else.
What made me want to keep helping certain founders was when they’d update me on wins, send interesting articles they found, or even just check in when they didnt need anything. Make it feel like a relationship where you’re both getting something out of it, not a one-way advice dispenser.
the honest answer is most experienced founders dont want to mentor because 95% of people who ask for mentorship actually want validation not feedback. they want someone to tell them their idea is great not someone to poke holes in it
what makes it worth it: come with a specific problem not a general “help me figure things out.” the best mentorship works when someone says “im stuck between X and Y and heres what ive tried” vs “can you teach me how to start a business”
also dont underestimate peer mentorship. someone 6 months ahead of you is often more useful than someone 10 years ahead because they remember the specific problems youre dealing with right now
Mentoring comes in a many forms. Mostly I serve as a more experienced businessman to bounce ideas off. I do it for people who I personally know. Normally we developed some professional relationship with each other. Nobody could pay me to do it for someone I didn’t personally know and like.