Does your startup need a mentor?

In any startup, a mentor brings in their unique perspective, experience and network. They more than often are on a lookout for giving back to the fraternity or community and seek suitable opportunities and trends to analyze an idea and provide direction from an outsider's perspective. As mentors generally bring an area of specialization with them, they can advise start-ups as to what they should focus on, or how they should tackle various problems. A good mentor provides a genuine feedback about a business plan or an idea, which makes a lot of difference between success and failure. The mentor comes on board with their deep insights gained through experience and guide startups to make right decisions at right time. They also provide key strategic inputs across various lifecycles of a product or business.

Mentors bring to the table their domain knowledge, learnings from professional and personal (arising due to business) failures in the past and provide an insight into market realities so that startups do not tread the same path in similar situations, and are much better informed, equipped and proactive. The mentors also help startups connect with the right people at the right time through their network. Their rich experience helps in understanding the potential upcoming pitfalls and how to avoid them.

A mentor is generally passionate about working with bright people, shares experiences and has a sense of giving back to the community. The kind of network and the degree of training that a mentor brings to the table helps a startup achieve success to a great extent.