11 November 2023

Do you need to have founded a company to mentor startups?

The question usually comes from people who want to mentor and fear they do not qualify. My answer is no, but it depends on what you bring.

Founder experience gives you something real. You know what it feels like to miss payroll or to pitch without revenue. A mentor without it cannot fake that and should not try.

What a mentor does need is simpler.

Understand how a business works

Pricing, sales, cash, hiring, and the order in which problems tend to appear. If you can see a startup running out of money before the founders do, you are useful.

Know which hat you are wearing

A business mentor and a subject matter expert give different advice. Say which one you are in the room. Founders get confused when a mentor drifts from one role to the other without saying so.

Listen first

A good session often starts with questions. Technical founders in particular do not need to be told what they already know about their technology.

Care about the outcome

Ask yourself honestly whether you are there for the founder’s progress or for the experience of being a mentor. Founders can tell.

In the programmes I have seen, neither group was reliably better. The good mentors were curious, prepared, and honest about what they did not know.

So if you are on the fence, skip the question of whether you have earned the title. Ask whether you can help one specific founder this month. If you can, start.