Mentors

Our mentors are picked from the professional world and, as such, they tend to be fairly busy. Currently, we are planning on March 4 as being our Mentor Open House. This day will afford teams the opportunity to meet some mentors and to get some feedback on their concepts.

Unfortunately, this opportunity is only available to teams/individuals participating in the 2013 Business Plan Competition and help will only be rendered on businesses that have been entered into the competition. So, if you want help from a mentor you should enter the competition!

Why do they do this? First and foremost, they volunteer as a way of giving back to the university and to society at large. And a true mentoring relationship also works in both directions—they learn about new ideas from you just as you learn timeless wisdom from them.

But whatever the benefits to the mentor, the benefits to you, the entrepreneur, are even greater:

1. Where else are you going to turn? Everybody needs a good reliable sounding board, second opinion, and sometimes just emotional support.
2. They’ve “been there, done that.” Learn from others' mistakes and successes. They don't have to have experience in your particular industry. Their role is to share with you lessons from their experience in the hopes that you can learn them a bit more quickly and easily.
3. Expand your social network. Your mentor, being an experienced businessperson, is likely to have an extensive network, and can offer you access to far more senior decision-makers than you currently have.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by finding a good mentor. Every entrepreneur should have one.