Entrepreneurs would always set out to traverse the path untrodden. There are sure to be challenging times, and those are times when Entrepreneurs too need direction and advise. Even if it not be advise at least a bouncing board.
At a crossroad, it is best to ask someone who has trodden a similar path. In the early stages of a company when there is nil or lesser presence of senior management in the team, the founder feels the need for a partner to have an uncompromised business conversation. Someone who is not an insider and thereby prejudiced by the constraints of the organization, and yet understands the operating boundaries like an insider.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with dust and sweat, who strives valiantly, who errs and may fall again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming.
That is where the mentor comes in !
Mentors have years of experience tackling and overcoming hundreds of situations and have learnt from costly mistakes, which is what you as the founder of an early stage or small business would get from a Mentor.
The advises and discussions with a mentor can help the founder stop making mistakes and situations by cutting down on years of wrong product development, entry into a wrong geography or an untimely hire, all of which can either stunt growth or reduce profitability.
Most leading entrepreneurs have had mentors which helped them remain innovative and ahead. Mark Zuckenberg had Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett had Benjamin Graham, and there are many more such examples
One can argue that in the internet era all information is supposedly available on the web. Sure a lot is written in books and in blogs, however not all knowledge is documented and mentors when building their own companies simply did not have the time to document their experiences.
Dig deeper on this available information on the web, and you would find many of that would be academic advise with no seasoned entrepreneur behind.
Entrepreneurship is about a lot of decision making.
There often comes time during the journey, when every path at the cross roads seems the best. These are times when the presence of an experienced mentor is so welcome for brainstorming.
Listed below are some pointers to situations where Mentor can be useful and they are:
1. As Growth Hackers:
Post product development and a POC, Mentors are great to bounce growth strategies and sales expansion plans. This is the phase when there would be a lot of to and fro from product anvil and market feedback. This is also when the team is very small to take expert sales & marketing advice and thereby it is the mentors experience on guerilla strategies that would be of great help
2. Co-founder related:
Who is a startup co founder? Whether he be a technical co founder or business it is a tough task to find a co founder. If you do not already have one and are on the search the question in your mind would be.
- Why not take a professional instead ?
- Will the co-founder to be, resonate your ideas ?
- Or would you end up squabbling ?
And after a decision to take a co-founder is taken, the next dreadful task is Where to start the search and How to short list
Then the next important part is Co-founder stocks and compensation and if this is not already decided is always complex.Can someone negotiate on behalf of the founder or at least can he be a non-partisan dispassionate partner in the discussions such that the founder and co-founder sign off on a win-win deal
3. Hiring related :
With cashflow being primary consideration the questions that weighs on an entrepreneur are the following :
Is this is the right time to hire for a strategic/senior position? And if so, what is the right compensation.How does an early stage startup attract good professionals when cash is always so short and competition from large corporates for good resources is so intense. How to position the company to attract good talent? How to setup a good ESOP policy, or should we give stocks and if yes how much ? Is there a thumb rule ?
4. Milestones & Reviews
Entrepreneurs are self driven, however since they work on so many parallel projects, some projects can suck up all the time and some other very important projects/activities may get sidelined. When working at a corporate there was always the boss and the monthly reviews which helped in auto-aligning oneself. Entrepreneurs do need assistance in goal setting and be reviewed regularly
5. Branding:
In the early stages of a company it is very important
6. Investments & Finance:
If the company plans for fund raise, there is a lot of preparation before that.Financial prudence is extremely important which also includes right timing for investing into a new product or services or entry to a new geography, cashflow forecasting etc.
These are just are some of the areas that the mentor can be helpful :
Founders do not come with all the skills sets. In an early stage the startup does not have department heads and thus the founder is all rolled into one. The Mentor during his entrepreneurship journey would have managed various departments marketing, finance, ops, technology etc through their department head and that is how the experience of a mentor comes of help to support the founder.
Well!! To have or not to have (a business mentor) is the question’? If you are unsure self assess with 11.1 KM-S’ “NBM Assessment Tool” for free – “Need for Business Mentor” to assess whether you are in need of a ‘Business Mentor’
