According to a survey, Delhi-NCR is home to the largest network of startups in India. Naturally, the demand for the right mentor who can guide startups to their path to success is huge. Mentorship is and will be, an invaluable resource for any startup. Especially for those startups whose ideas are still in the excel sheets and blueprints. In fact, if you see in the past, organizations like Apple, Microsoft, and Google were all guided through effective mentoring.
(An infographic showing the trend of mentoring.)
Bill Hewlett mentored Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page often looked up to Steve Jobs for inspiring thoughts and even Bill Gates was coached by Warren Buffet. The pattern here is that all of them are multi-billionaires, and their massively lucrative businesses were started from effective mentoring. However, it may be easier to find the right person to guide you during your initial entrepreneurial journey abroad; it isn’t the case in India. People aren’t that keen on passing the knowledge. In fact, if you ask some of the established entrepreneurs gaining access to funds is much easier than finding good mentors!
Take a look at how mentoring helps in the growth of startups:
(Although anyone can be a mentor, start-ups look up to serial entrepreneurs, industry experts, investors, and incubators for valuable advice.)
As a business person, one of the greatest barricade you will confront is an absence of professional contacts, for example, service specialists, potential workers, and even the investors. Your mentor/mentors can guide you on how you can establish successful contacts that actually works for you. From finding significant talent for the business to the right office space for startups, mentors come handy at every point of your entrepreneurial journey.
It is not new to know that a good mentor can help you with a tremendous amount of knowledge. The knowledge that is right to establish and grow your business. If entrepreneurs can gain from right mentorship, their chances of becoming successful are very likely to be high. On a large scale, we, therefore, need people with years of knowledge in niches that can help young entrepreneurs scale up fast. A generation that gives in can inspire the next generation with the same extinct.
A mentor will evaluate your business from its objective’s point of view and pave way for the direction it is supposed to head. He/she will bring an unbiased review of your procedures. And, when that is done, it appears as if your startup has been put in front of a mirror, which shows the exact image without any prejudices. Mentors help in identifying the right and wrong of a startup’s objective. From its functional processes to even working on the commercials. In case there is something that could be wrong for the well-being of your startup’s function (like usage of inappropriate software, or hiring the wrong talent, or even poor accounting standards) mentors will point it out to you so that the corrective action takes place.
Mentors are tough, as they prepare you for the journey called entrepreneurship. So, don’t think they’ll be ever harsh on you. Be prepared for the tough questions that can be thrown at you at any point of the time. Because, of course, you are entrepreneurs and the startup is your dream child, hence, you should have all the information on the tip of your hand. Moreover, the tough mentors help you with improvisations that are necessary for the effective growth of your company. So, don’t be rattled with the impromptu rapid fires, as it is only for your benefit.
(The invaluable advice of the mentors is important during the various phases of startup processes.)
Now, a mentor could ask you a lot of questions. It is how you comprehend and adhere to the positive changes that bring the best out. These help in bringing changes to the business model, the target customers, target audience, acquisition costs, delivery times, the capital needed, and any more. In fact, in several cases, the advice of mentors have a long way that entrepreneurs have shifted their focus from improving their product to finding their first set of customers.
Mentors also help you in taking some time off and taking a look at the product that you’ve built. Take a step back as they say and walk away from the grind and retrospect along with them. Most of the successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs or Larry Page used to intern or do odd jobs to understand customer service. Learn the lessons there and apply them in their own business. This is how they build multi-billion dollar empires.
Entrepreneurs are frequently on an uncertain road. While they strive to become the best in their niche business, most of don’t know how to accomplish big objectives. They don’t know the amount to propel themselves. A decent mentor will impart substantial measurements of scenarios and influence you to push the bar extremely high.
Thus, to sum up, things, a good mentor is the basic need of any growing startup and as an entrepreneur, your best interests should find the right person to quench all your thirst. The Startup Desk by OfcSpc.com is one of the best platforms for startups in not only finding the right workspace to start their operations but also finding the guidance from industry experts and leaders. Come, grow your business!