Why did you decide to become a mentor?
I didn't consciously become a mentor — I found myself as one. I have always loved sharing my knowledge with others. My heart beats faster, and I feel alive when exchanging ideas and helping someone grow. Over time, I realized that mentoring is a two-way street — I learn just as much from those I mentor. Each mentee inspires me to explain concepts more simply yet comprehensively, think through the lens of other mindsets, and stay sharp. What began as a passion naturally evolved into a fulfilling part of my career, and I ended up here at MentorCruise, which I call the HQ of the best mentors on the planet.
How did you get your career start?
My journey began during my bachelor's, helping classmates. Later, at the beginning of my career at Ericsson R&D, selected as an innovation coach as a side role to support colleagues in knowledge sharing. This is where I trained by Swedish "knowledge sharing" experts and began mentoring professionally. After that, I co-founded dolphinOS, which is a self-funded research-oriented software company. To enable our research, we had to fund ourselves through external projects, which required building a strong team. This led us to start dolphinOS Academy to train university students and select the best among them to integrate into our team. Our grads (we call them "kids"), after spending years at dolphinOS, joined top companies like Amazon, Huawei, and Property Finder (a unicorn). Most recently, I mentored at Springboard, a Silicon Valley EdTech startup that raised over $50M, where I worked with people from incredibly diverse backgrounds. I mentored warehouse employees with limited foundations in science and math, high school graduates exploring tech for the first time, engineers transitioning from other disciplines, computer science graduates seeking direction, full-time professionals upskilling after work hours, and unemployed learners dedicating themselves full-time. Each brought their own unique challenges — sometimes technical, sometimes deeply personal — and together, we worked through them. In those moments, we often felt less like "mentees and mentors" and more like "brothers and sisters."
What do mentees usually come to you for?
For mentees new to software engineering, the biggest challenge often lies in not knowing what they don't know. In these cases, I help them build a clear learning pathway if they haven't already done so. I closely monitor their progress, validate their understanding, and guide them through areas that need improvement. Depending on their individual strengths, interests, and natural abilities, I direct them toward areas where they can thrive; for example, some may excel in frontend development, while others may have a talent for algorithmic thinking. For mentees with coding experience, the focus shifts to refinement. They typically seek guidance on best practices, software engineering principles, or ways to enhance their skills. Often, they are interested in learning new technologies or approaches that I am familiar with, and I support them by revealing real-world applications to deepen their understanding.
What's been your favourite mentorship success story so far?
One of my favorite mentorship success stories is about a brilliant, introverted first-year university student. He was deeply eager to learn but felt lost; he found university too theoretical and didn't know what to learn or how to learn it. When we started our sessions, he barely spoke. I'm a person who brings humor and fun into conversations; otherwise, I find it too boring for myself. Slowly, he began to open up. We became friends. Over time, he started socializing, even becoming close with my other mentees. We worked together for a long time. He landed a job at a FAANG company, listing me as a reference. I still remember his words: "I owe everything I learn to you." Even his parents reached out to thank me. We're still in touch, and he is getting married soon; guess who his best man is!
What are you getting out of being a mentor?
Being a mentor carries a sense of responsibility — the responsibility to ensure that your knowledge is accurate and beneficial. That drives me to read more, stay sharp, and question methodologies. Mentees occasionally ask questions that take me to perspectives I hadn't thought of before, which opens up new ways of thinking. Sometimes, my mentees explore topics that I haven't delved into myself, which allows me to discover new concepts and perspectives. I also learn from their experiences in areas where I haven't personally worked. Witnessing someone's learning journey — especially their transformation over time — extends my understanding of human cognition. And occasionally, a mentee goes beyond what I know and teaches me something — those moments are my favorite.