When you are embarking on an exciting professional journey (like starting your own company, for example!) it is important that you pick the right entrepreneur mentor to help you along. While offers of mentorships are abundant once you start looking for them, it is important to pick the right fit for you. Different industries, personality types, and stages of starting your business will require different mentors. Many make the mistake of talking to an entrepreneur mentor that is not appropriate for their start-up’s needs or stage of development. Frequently, I see founders delay these conversations and sometimes a poor mentoring fit can even derail their company’s plans altogether.
Joan’s Journey: The Case for an Entrepreneur Mentor
From NGO to Start-up
Let’s take Joan, who has a fledgling medtech start-up. In the past she has worked at large NGOs and has created a wide network of contacts. Now, she wants her start-up to succeed and she reached out to her network for advice. Unfortunately after many attempts, most of the channels did not return the guidance and advice that she was looking for. Why would such a successful person experience such a low level of support from her strong network?
The answer is actually pretty straight forward, but hard to see. The network that she had built out while working at a large NGO is the wrong fit for her start-up. Those professionals might be doing fantastic work in NGOs, and they are probably good people. But, in their roles and with the resources that they have available, they might not have the room or processes to integrate or help small companies like Joan’s.
So how can we advise Joan to take her venture to the next level?
It starts with imagining the start-up journey as a ladder. Each step on that ladder represents growth of some sort: people, revenue, budget, opportunity, or another area. As the company grows and matures it will climb those steps until it reaches market growth equilibrium. Keep in mind that those steps may be different for every company, especially across different industries.
Once Joan understands that her company’s growth will reflect this image of a ladder,now the networking part starts. Joan has to find and identify companies and entrepreneur mentors who are just slightly ahead on the ladder - perhaps those which have a few million more in revenue, a few more contracts, or a few more closed opportunities. These mentors are just within the “context window” of market trends, changes, and connections to be the most useful to Joan’s current level start up. Their stories and their tricks will still be valid in the current market environment and specifically at Joan’s level.
Maintain Connections for the Future
Even though Joan’s optimized network might look differently than it did while she worked at NGOs, it is still useful to maintain her connections to larger companies. Organizations that are 10-20 steps ahead of hers on the ladder and can help her track long-term plans. While those plans might not be the most fruitful for her to focus on right now, they will become a lot more useful over time as Joan’s company scales the ladder.
Krista: Professional Recruiter Turned Founder
Let’s take another example. This time of a recruiting professional Krista, who is now trying to start her own recruiting agency. She has been a professional recruiter working with the large consulting companies for the past 20 years and decided that it was time to venture on her own. She started to engage her network, crafting very personal messages and following other professionals on LinkedIn. But alas, just like in Joan’s case, she quickly gets frustrated with her lack of results. She does not get any replies, and those who she is able to get on the phone cannot be as helpful as she hoped. What should she do differently now? How is her case similar to Joan’s?
Choosing an Entrepreneur Mentor Wisely
While there are a lot of similarities between Joan’s and Krista’s frustrations, the solution is slightly different. Since Krista is now pursuing to start her own practice, she would benefit the most if she reaches out to others who have started practices before and have been on the market for a few years. Krista should be discerning in her outreach between “product” companies and “services” companies. Service-based organizations will have the most relevant experiences to share with her. The differences between product- and service-based companies are slight, but focusing on those that have the most in common with her can ensure that her business development goes through the most appropriate channels for her practice.
The Value of Strategic Questions
Krista's existing network can still be extremely useful, but the question she asks has to be slightly different. Instead of asking “how can you help me find candidates and positions?” Krista should be asking “What are your company's processes in engaging with the independent recruiters and companies of smaller size?” Krista is used to having a lot of doors being open to her due to big consulting brands she was representing, and now it would be more appropriate to humbly step back as her individual brand does not carry yet the same weight.
Takeaways from a Seasoned Entrepreneur Mentor
These are just a few examples of approaches that you can take to adjust your mentorship and advisory outlook. The few key takeaways are:
- Your current network will likely not get your start-up to your goals, and has to be expanded. Be intentional about networking within a strategic “context window” or with organizations of similar size.
- Your new brand has a lot less value than the brands of the companies that you have represented before. It takes time to grow the brand and over time, but with great effort, you will get there.
- While I strongly recommend building out your new networks, your old networks can still come handy in the long term when your company reaches a certain level of maturity. Alternatively, you may also find out that mature companies have special programs for engaging with companies of your size.
To dive deeper and discuss more personalized advice for your unique situation, schedule a mentoring session. I look forward to meeting you!