An Entrepreneurs’ Guide to Good Mentoring
Sramana Mitra
Founder and CEO of One Million by the One Million (1Mby1M) Global Virtual Accelerator
These days, everyone seems to be a startup mentor. Whether they have ever done a startup or not, whether they have ever raised money or not, they are ready to advise entrepreneurs.
As you are navigating through your options, consider these points as guidance in finding a good mentor to shepherd your journey.
One thing I have learnt is that it is extremely difficult to give negative feedback to entrepreneurs without triggering a defensive reaction. I was not good at this when we started 1Mby1M. I am very good at analyzing a business scenario, but I was never good at sugar coating the feedback in a way that is particularly nurturing or reassuring.
Very early on in our experiments with online mentoring, we told entrepreneurs that this forum is for candid, constructive feedback, and that may include negative feedback. We don’t tell entrepreneurs what they want to hear. We tell them what they need to hear. While some egos get bruised, entrepreneurs have more or less accepted our approach, and have given us permission to ‘critique’ their ventures.
I have, personally, gotten better at giving feedback in a palatable way. The biggest thing that has worked well is that we never, ever give negative input gratuitously. Everything has been in the spirit of helping both the entrepreneur (s) and the businesses grow. Nonetheless, if through this process I have offended you or hurt your feelings, let me take this opportunity to apologize. It was not my intent.
Looking For Some Hands-On Advice?
I receive many emails from entrepreneurs who want to discuss their specific businesses. I’m very happy to discuss your situation during my free online 1M/1M Roundtables, held almost every Thursday. During each roundtable, up to five entrepreneurs can pitch their businesses and receive my immediate and straightforward feedback.
To give entrepreneurs all over the world access to Silicon Valley’s knowledge, methodology, and network, I founded the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) global virtual incubator. 1M/1M aims to nurture a million entrepreneurs to reach a million dollars each in annual revenue and beyond, thereby creating a trillion dollars in global GDP and ten million jobs.
For those still testing the waters of entrepreneurship, I’ve written my Entrepreneur Journeys book series to inform and inspire. My newest book, Billion Dollar Unicorns, is now available from Amazon.
If you are interested in entrepreneurship topics and my writings, you can follow me here. I hope to publish articles on LinkedIn every week.
Photo: Jeff Turner/Flickr.com.
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9 年Really educative I must say.
President at RemoteToPC
9 年I’m not a 1Mby1M member, but from what I have seen, I like your approach. People have got to build a startup that matches with reality or else. Negative feedback from a mentor who knows what they are talking about that is actually interested in your ultimate success is always a good thing. Keep up the good work!
Nuclear Engineer, bilingual English/Russian
9 年Maybe I am a rare bird, but I like frank, blunt feedback, if you see me headed for a cliff, so to speak, just tell me, don't try to "sugar coat" it! People who seem to be trying to figure out what I want to hear drive me nuts. Fortunately where I work, there are plenty of good mentors, people who know their stuff, and can teach. That said I agree there is no advantage in being gratuitously gruff in giving negative feedback.