The document discusses the importance of mutual mentorship between startup founders and mentors. It emphasizes that mentorship is most effective when it is a two-way relationship where both parties can ask questions and learn from each other. Mentors should focus on asking questions to help mentees learn, rather than just providing answers, and should give mentees the confidence and curiosity to find their own solutions. Regular feedback and review of the relationship is important to ensure both parties are benefiting. Peer mentorship within a founder's network can also be highly valuable.

1. Startup Secrets:
Mastering Mutual
Mentorship
6.14.19

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Startup Secrets
Workshops
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1. What’s Your Roadmap to Success?
2. Building a Compelling Value Proposition
3. Turning Products into Companies
4. Culture, Mission and Vision
5. Hiring A+ Talent
6. Game-Changing Business Models
7. Go to Market Strategies
8. Getting Behind the Perfect Investor Pitch
9. Funding Strategies to go the Distance
10. Have You Got What It Takes?
11. Mastering Mutual Mentorship

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Mentorship is a Gift
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● Are you seeking a handout or real help?
● Do you want an answer or are you really
looking to learn?
Do You
Know What
Help You
Want
and How to
Ask for It?
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Think of it as a Game of Chess
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You Can Easily Ask for the Next
Move...
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...But wouldn’t you rather learn how
to master the game?
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“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking
we used when we created them.” -Albert Einstein
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Answers are for History Lessons.
Questions are for Future Breakthroughs.
Breakthroughs Present Opportunities for Startups.

9. Skills

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● Are they appropriate for YOU?
● Do they tempt you to take the road already
traveled?
● Do they develop curiosity?
● Combinatorial thinking can be much more
powerful than individual answers
● … and what happens when you don’t have
someone there to give you answers?
Question
Answers!
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SERIOUSLY!
Think about it… when you were asked a really great
question, did it get your mind working?
Consider asking your mentor for great questions to
help you puzzle the answer for yourself…
…enabling the “AHA!” moment
How about
asking for
questions?
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● What do you need?
○ A new skill?
○ An experience?
○ Some knowledge?
● How and where can you best get these?
● Is it one-off help or is it an enduring kind of
learning you need?
● Mentorship is often only a part of the solution.
○ Sometimes mentors are just pointers to other
resources.
What’s
stopping
you from
answering
your own
questions?
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So how do you find the right questions?
Could you ask the market ?
Ask the customer, user, potential market?
At least understand their view of the problem
Mentors
and
Mentees
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Tools for guiding you to the right questions:
○ Brainstorming
○ Research
○ Discovery, exploration
○ Field work, research
○ Surveys
○ Landing Pages
○ Frameworks
Tools
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Nothing worse than answering the wrong question well!
Newton’s Apple vs. Apple’s Newton
Mentors
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Startup
Secret!
Don’t take advice
blindly, take it
mindfully.
Your mind and instincts are
your best resources to set
a course for something
that can work for YOU.
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● AHA!
● Eureka!
● &*!^#%!
Mentors:
Develop
Your
Mentees!
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Mentor to Mentee test:
● If I give you this answer, then what will you do
with it?
● What comes next?
(Hint: If it only advances you one step, it's probably
not a good question or answer. Remember the chess
game, are you helping them master it?)
Enabling
the
Eureka!
Moment
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Example:
Question for answer:
Mentee: Should I price this at x or y?
Mentor: y
Question for question:
Mentee: What should I charge for my product?
Mentor: Where is the core value? Who will see that and how will
they value it?
Enabling
the
Eureka!
Moment
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● Mentors, if you’re not giving Mentees answers, what are
you giving them?
○ Curiosity
○ Joy of learning
○ Confidence to try
○ Resourcefulness, initiative – e.g., EXTERNAL validation
● A journey from AHA to WOW - I can do this !!
○ Enlightenment
Developing
Your
Mentee
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● Be open, honest and accurate wherever possible
● Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know either!
● Always look for teaching moments
● Bring humor, have fun!
“To encourage and beyond!”
- with apologies to Buzz Lightyear
Mentors
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For Startups in particular:
“There is no failure, only learning”
#nomorefear #onlylearning
So make it safe and leave room to fail / learn!
Remember!
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Startup
Secret!
Things are rarely
ever as good as they
seem, or as bad as
they seem in the
moment.
The Mentor’s role is to pick the
Mentee up when they are down, and
to keep them from rising up too far!
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Is this working?
Ask for feedback!
How do you improve?
Ask for measures for success!
How do you
know if
you’re a
good
Mentor or
Mentee?
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● Mentees – record what you learned!
○ Share with your mentor at your next checkpoint
○ How you learn is a great guide for your mentor to
teach you
● Mentors – figure out how to coach your specific mentee
○ Everyone learns differently, successes AND failures
● Review regularly
○ Mutual feedback
○ If the relationship isn’t working, it won’t fix itself!
Record
and
Review
Regularly
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26. Aren’t We All Mentors?

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● The power of peer mentorship...
○ Who else are you on this journey with?
■ Co-founders?
■ Other founders, entrepreneurs?
■ Other peers in school?
■ Friends?
■ Family? (can be tricky!)
Peer
Mentorship
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Surprise!
People trying to learn themselves
often make the best mentors,
because they’re asking questions!
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The question is:
Do you have it?
or
Do you give it?
Neither: At it’s best, you’re giving and receiving
Mentoring
is a Gift
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The Importance of YOU in the Equation
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says
I’m possible."
Audrey Hepburn

31. Startup Secrets:
Mastering Mutual
Mentorship
6.14.19