Importance of having a mentor in the start up

 

With great power comes great responsibility. And that is one of the main reasons why being an entrepreneur is hard. Being an entrepreneur without a mentor is even more difficult. Mentors bring with them a significant amount of knowledge and experience that can pave the way for entrepreneurs who are just starting to take flight. They understand the stumbling blocks that come along the way and have enough experience to judge the best methods to deal with them. For a more quantitative understanding, about 30% of start-ups fail in the first 24 months, and almost 50% fail to reach the five-year mark. However, 70% of mentored businesses successfully cross the five-year mark. That significantly highlights the importance of having a mentor in the start-up.

 

● While most new entrepreneurs have the drive and motivation to work hard to achieve their targets, they often lack the knowledge and experience. They let their emotions guide them when they come across a roadblock. But that is not the best way to go about it. Mentors know that. They understand these struggles as they, too, have been in the same shoes, and have gained an in-depth understanding along the way. When you have a mentor guiding you, everything makes a little bit more sense.

● Mentors don’t micromanage the business. Instead, they provide guidance and support that will pave the way for their entrepreneurs. They aim to offer the entrepreneur the opportunity to be themselves and hence capitalize on their strengths and weaknesses. They go to the very crux of their being and understand entrepreneurs at their very core. That helps them provide efficient judgment when the need arises.

● Mentors take the time to understand the core team of their mentoring business. They put in the effort to understand the value of their qualities, and then allocate responsibilities so each member can excel at their respective tasks. Owing to the depth with which they know the team, they do not always adhere to the book. Instead, they allow them the opportunity to carry out the role that they excel in. That helps them explore dynamic solutions and unconventional techniques that are perhaps entirely new to the market. And let us be honest - a majority of entrepreneurial businesses run on innovation. So, there’s no need for them to play by the book. Mentors understand that and instead provide dynamic advice that will help them in their journey. 

● When mentors develop meaningful bonds with their entrepreneurs, they also provide them access to their comprehensive network. That may help them in every aspect of their business. Even new entrepreneurs who have never established businesses before can significantly benefit from such support. In such a manner, mentors also bring enthralling opportunities to their entrepreneurs. These opportunities may not only help in business but also strengthen the emotional quotient of their team.

● The emotional quotient often surpasses the intelligence quotient. That is especially true for new entrepreneurs. When you’re an entrepreneur, it is far more crucial for you to be street smart and book smart. Having a high EQ will help you network efficiently and develop meaningful relationships with key stakeholders, employees, and otherwise. It will also help you discover unique solutions that benefit both sides of the deal. 

 

Hence, the importance of having a mentor in the start-up, especially from the very start, is far more than can be described. Mentors play a pivotal role in the success of new businesses as they will be with them right till the very end. Let’s understand this better with an example. Steve Jobs mentored Mark Zuckerberg. So, in a way, Facebook owes a significant part of its success to Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple. Steve Jobs, in turn, was mentored by Mike Markkula, an early investor and executive at Apple. So, you see, a business truly achieves success (far more easily) when they have a reliable, resourceful mentor by their side.