I know that is a strong statement; quit reading if you disagree, it’s about to get worse. This is how someone might become a mentor. They watch a TED talk, let’s say Simon Sinek, and learn the golden circle, why, how, what. Maybe they also read a blog post, let’s say, “How to Implement OKRs in an Early-stage Company” from Brian Balfour. Then, all pumped up, they get out and teach young startups what they ‘think’ they have learned.
Looking for a mentor is natural when you're inexperienced. As is the case in any job you may come across charlatans or -just as likely-incompetents. The problem may also come from today's society encouraging bright young things to become entrepreneurs when they have neither experience nor the idea of how tough entrepreneurial life is. Sure it makes sense to 'fail fast' when you're a young person without kids or a mortgage but it may he be high time we started to reflect that being an entrepreneur or part of a startup is not for everybody far from it. Actually it's a very tough life and most people will live a much healthier life steering clear from it. Some young people become themselves complete charlatans telling a charmed older audience the tales they want to hear. A number of others will suffer severe burnout and suffer consequences the rest of their lives. "Caveat Entreprenor!"
Completely agree, what I've observed over the past years:
- A good mentor will tell you how he has done it at the time and in which context, and what were the alternative. Most of the time, getting another perspective into a similar problem is sufficient and excellent mentorship!
- If your startup mentor starts to use MBA-type frameworks, forget it, these may be useful but only way later in your company growth when you may need to change strategy and align dozens of people (BCG / McKinsey should not be useful for startups, and the change methods are made for large cos).
In general, the big question is "what's in it for them?". Too many times there is simply a misalignment of incentives. I find that a "mentor" asking for fees in cash to an early-stage startup is a bad sign. As an official advisor, you can get stock options with a contract and vesting plan. Better yet, your VC should be the one recommending advisors among their LPs or network who have an incentive in helping you, other than your early stage startup wasting money in consulting fees.
Looking for a mentor is natural when you're inexperienced. As is the case in any job you may come across charlatans or -just as likely-incompetents. The problem may also come from today's society encouraging bright young things to become entrepreneurs when they have neither experience nor the idea of how tough entrepreneurial life is. Sure it makes sense to 'fail fast' when you're a young person without kids or a mortgage but it may he be high time we started to reflect that being an entrepreneur or part of a startup is not for everybody far from it. Actually it's a very tough life and most people will live a much healthier life steering clear from it. Some young people become themselves complete charlatans telling a charmed older audience the tales they want to hear. A number of others will suffer severe burnout and suffer consequences the rest of their lives. "Caveat Entreprenor!"
Love it!
Completely agree, what I've observed over the past years:
- A good mentor will tell you how he has done it at the time and in which context, and what were the alternative. Most of the time, getting another perspective into a similar problem is sufficient and excellent mentorship!
- If your startup mentor starts to use MBA-type frameworks, forget it, these may be useful but only way later in your company growth when you may need to change strategy and align dozens of people (BCG / McKinsey should not be useful for startups, and the change methods are made for large cos).
In general, the big question is "what's in it for them?". Too many times there is simply a misalignment of incentives. I find that a "mentor" asking for fees in cash to an early-stage startup is a bad sign. As an official advisor, you can get stock options with a contract and vesting plan. Better yet, your VC should be the one recommending advisors among their LPs or network who have an incentive in helping you, other than your early stage startup wasting money in consulting fees.