Services
$270 / month
Start free, decide later
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1
Free 7-day trial
No charge until day 7. Cancel anytime. -
2
Ongoing calls + chat
2 × 30-min calls per month, unlimited Q&A. Replies in 2 days. -
3
No lock-in
Month to month, no contract.
MentorCruise summary
Joana is a startup founder, serial entrepreneur, and CEO. She also advises startups and invests as an angel investor, with more than eight years of experience building ventures in technology, health, and education. She helps early-stage founders validate ideas, shape go-to-market plans, and prepare to raise funding.
Based on 8 verified mentee reviews
- Reviewers often praise her practical advice on marketing, user growth, and startup strategy.
- Two reviewers mention that she is hands-on and present during sessions.
- Several reviewers value her startup knowledge and insightful suggestions.
About
Building a startup can feel overwhelming when every decision appears urgent: validating the market, defining the product, finding customers, building a team and preparing for investment.
I help early-stage founders identify what matters most, challenge assumptions and turn uncertainty into a clear and actionable strategy.
Over the past 8+ years, I have built and led ventures at the intersection of technology, health, education and culture. Alongside my work as a founder and operator, I mentor entrepreneurs, advise startups and evaluate investment opportunities as an angel investor.
My experience combines the founder, operator, mentor and investor perspectives. I have launched and developed ventures including Clynx, Lampsy and Gleedot, worked with founders across multiple industries, supported startup and innovation programmes, and assessed early-stage companies through angel-investment networks.
I can support you with:
– Market and problem validation
– Business model and positioning
– Go-to-market strategy
– Product and growth priorities
– Pitch decks and investor storytelling
– Fundraising strategy and investor readiness
– Founder decision-making and accountability
My mentoring style is practical, direct and highly personalised. I will not simply agree with your ideas—I will help you test them, identify blind spots and leave each session with clear next steps.
This mentorship is particularly relevant for first-time founders, early-stage teams and professionals transitioning into entrepreneurship.
What mentees say
5 out of 5 stars
Joana was fantastic, helping me find the best choices to make to start producing social media growth in combination with a strategy for how to convert that attention to users. She was very helpful in finding solutions but also in exploring where I was and wanted to go in our sessions.
Errol
Lite Plan • 5 months
5 out of 5 stars
Joana was the perfect mentor for my stage of entrepreneurship. She consistently pushed back on my assumptions in a gentle but firm manner, which made a real difference. Compared to my previous product ideas, I honed in on something people cared about much more quickly. One example: I pitched an idea and described my small set of beta users who were willing to test it. Joana encouraged me to talk to at least 10 users first. After those conversations, I landed on an idea with significantly more market pull—evidenced by the fact that several players were already in the space, whereas my original idea had none. I would hire Joana again without hesitation.
Traun
Lite Plan • 2 months
5 out of 5 stars
Joana is very knowledgeable and helpful. Proactive in creating solutions for my marketing needs. Look forward to continuing to work with her.
Carrie
Standard Plan • 3 months
Get to know Joana
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Article 5 min readTOP 100: Europe’s most influential women in the startup and venture capital space in 2026! | EU-Startups
Ahead of International Women’s Day 2026 on March 8, this year’s theme, “Give to Gain”, highlights the power of generosity, …
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VideoTALK - Joana Pinto - STEM Women Congress Lisboa 2024
TALK 1 Joana Pinto, Co-founder, CEO @ Clynx Health
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What happens when you start
You tell Joana your goals. They see exactly what you want to work on before session one.
You meet within days. Joana reviews your application and books your first session, usually within a day or two.
You leave with a plan. Concrete next steps and a weekly rhythm from your very first week.
