• Insights

Two questions aspiring entrepreneurs invariably ask me are: Who is a mentor? Where can I find him? Let’s address these questions.

Can anyone who gives me advice be called a mentor?
No. Mentors are those who hand-hold you to make sure that the advice they give you is actioned successfully. So it is advice with accountability.

What can I expect from my mentor?
A mentor brings to the table three mission-critical things—one, he brings his experience. When entrepreneurs start out, they may arrive at a successful blue-print after a lot of trial and error. A mentor with experience can save them money, effort and heartache.

Two, a mentor opens doors for the entrepreneur which may otherwise remain shut. A mentor is well-networked and has credibility in his habitat.

Three, a mentor is your mirror. He is expected to tell you things exactly as they are, not sugar-coat them. He’s not the devil’s advocate, he’s the devil himself.

Should the mentor know everything there is to know?
Don’t be unreasonable. If you have a mentor to help you with business strategy, it is not even necessary that he knows your domain. Though the mentor should have the perspective to point you in the right direction.

Can I have more than one mentor?
Yes. If you are one of those lucky guys, more power to you! You can have a mentor in your domain for product development, you may have another for going to market, and you may have a third for financial structuring.

How do I pay the mentor?
This is an arrangement which is made between you and your mentor. Some mentors charge a small monthly retainer fee against which they provide mentoring and this may be articulated in the terms of engagement. Some may ask for a stake in the company, typically anywhere between 2-3 percent.

How do I actually trust the mentor?
The same way you learn to trust other people in your ecosystem—such as employees, customers and partners. You do adequate due diligence, establish his credentials, talk to other people whom he has mentored, establish proof of concept. And finally go with your gut feeling.

Now, to come to the question I mentioned at the beginning.

Where to find mentors?
They are hidden gems and you need to dig them. But look around you, there is enough and more activity happening, at least in the metros in India. There are many people today who are passionate not just about creating entrepreneurs, but fostering an entrepreneurial economy in India.

Dig them from LinkedIn, from a TiE conference, from the blogs of holykaw, from the TED talks, from a casual conversation in a waiting room, from an event at Headstart or Proto or OCC or Spark, from the incubators at IITs and IIMs and PES. In other words, from just about anywhere.

Just the way you look out for opportunities, look out for mentors too. Seek and thou shalt find!

NANDINI VAIDYANATHAN teaches entrepreneurship in biz schools around the world and has co-founded two companies, Startups  (forstartups.blogspot.com) and CARMa (www.carmagroup.in), both of which mentor entrepreneurs.

©Entrepreneur August 2010

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mentor, Nandini Vaidyanathan