Importance of a Startup Mentor

“Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru devo Maheshwara”

“Guru sakshat, param Brahma, tasmai shri guravay namah”

We all have been hearing this Shlokha since our childhood and many of us were even made to recite it in the beginning of every class. Importance of a Mentor / Guru has been present since Vedic times.

Any entrepreneur when he/she starts planning about their startup, they start with an aim of raising investments and becoming unicorns or to get acquired for a huge sum of money. Hardly there are any entrepreneurs who start with an aim to get a mentor on board who can guide them to run the company for decades.

Let’s give it a thought, just recollect when you were thinking about your startup idea who was the first person that came to your mind to discuss your idea about. Close your eye for 15 second and just think.

Think ……………. Think ……………… Think ………………

I am sure the person was either your friend or family or someone to whom who can look up to. INVESTOR was never the first person who comes to your mind.

Now, again think for couple of seconds, amongst the people whom you just thought about who was the person who really encouraged your idea and gave you suggestions to improvise it.

I am sure in most of the cases it’s not your friends or family. This time it is someone who believed in YOU more than your idea and thus gave ideas to improvise it.

This is the same person who decides to stand next to you till you achieve your goals.

Here’s comes the Guru/Mentor.

A Mentor/Guru is the only person who believes in you and your idea when no one is even bothered to listen to you. Mentor is the only person who stands with you in all the worst times of your entrepreneurial journey and does not leave your hand until you stabilize.

Unfortunately in India, Mentors are never given the value they deserve as most investors get. Most of the startup events, pitch programs revolve around involving only Investors as key people.

How many of you have actually seen a program where Mentors are been highlighted or any such event which connects Startups to Mentors.

Even when Startups apply for incubator/accelerator program 99% of them apply seeking funding and not mentorship.

Just imagine the existence and value quotient of:

Arjuna without Guru Dronacharya

Chandragupta Maurya without Chanakya

Sachin Tendulkar without Ramakant Achrekar

Hima Das without P.T. Usha

ISRO Team without Dr. Vikram Sarabhai & Dr. Kalaam

If you clearly notice and understand, In most cases when a Startup is not doing well the first person to leave the company is the INVESTOR followed by the TEAM. But a Mentor never leaves you but instead he helps you get back on track and keeps your moving.

Also if you have noticed, when you invite any investor or team to come onboard with your startup at initial stage, the first question that comes is “What’s in it for me?. Have you ever met an Investor or team who says, “Let’s get started first and discuss profits later”. No, that will never happen or hardly who will come across in that sort of situation.

But a Mentor is always the person who joins you on board without any expectations to help you and groom your startup.

A mentor not just helps you to grow, but also is like a safety net which helps you from falling for wrong traps. There are many startups that ended up giving away high amount of stake to investors or partners or teams due to lack of negotiation skills and experience.

Sometimes this also happens during the client negotiations, where startups end up providing services at much lesser prices and incur losses. This is where a mentor guides you through the deals with his experience and helps you take decisions that are in best of interest for the organization.

As an Entrepreneur and a startup mentor, I would recommend every startup to get a mentor on board. I am sure this will be one of the best decisions for which you would never have to regret in your life.

I do understand the fact that most startups get confused while selecting mentor on board as there are many fake or self-certified mentors in the market. Startups need to be very vigilant and careful while selecting the right person

To address the issue and help entrepreneurs in this matter, I would soon be writing my next blog on “Choosing Right Mentor on Board” with tips for the same.

All those startups that already have an effective mentor on board, Hearty Congratulations!!! You took a right decision.

At this point, I would also request also those startups that have a mentor on board to mail me their mentor stories.

Like,

How you chose your mentor?

What sort of value has been added by your mentor to your organization?

How did your mentor save you from taking wrong decisions or falling in traps?

do mail me your mentor stories at madhav.reddy9@gmail.com

This is my first blog and I dedicate it to all the Teachers, Mentors and Gurus across the globe.

Happy Teachers Day 2019

Madhav Reddy

Bharat Shiromani Awardee

Founder – RedMad Learnings & MRICS Startup Accelerator

madhav.reddy9@gmail.com