Mentorship at Startup School

Mentorship at Startup School aims to provide the entrepreneurs with more one-on-one engagement and guidance in starting or scaling up your business. The coursework provides the entrepreneurs with practical skills, however, through the mentorship programme we hope the entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to learn how to apply these skills from a successful entrepreneur.The mentorship programme aims to be an additional support to the entrepreneurs as they drive towards a stronger and more refined application/business pitch.

The Startup School mentorship programme is 8 weeks long consisting of 8 one hour sessions with an entrepreneur mentor.

What is ‘mentorship’

Businessdictionary.com defines mentorship as an: ‘Employee training system under which a senior or more experienced individual (the mentor) is assigned to act as an advisor, counselor, or guide to a junior or trainee. The mentor is responsible for providing support to, and feedback on, the individual in his or her charge.

The Purpose of the Startup School mentorship programme

The purpose of the Startup School mentorship programme is to provide entrepreneurs with one-on-one knowledge and guidance in starting or scaling up their business. The programme provides more of the practical component of the Startup School’s course.

The mentorship programme is additionally a crucial part of moving the Startup School entrepreneur from the course programme through to the application for the prize money provided by Investec. It is our hope that the mentorship programme will support the entrepreneur to build towards a stronger and more refined application/business pitch.

The structure

8 one hour sessions as arranged by both the mentor and mentee.

Mentorship Guide

Startup School is committed to ensuring that business mentorship is used in a positive and impactful way. Which is why we have created a guide for the entrepreneurs to engage with you (the mentors) to ensure that there is high benefit potential to both parties.

The guide is intended to:

Provide both mentor and mentee with a structured mentorship plan
Provide both parties with accountability
Provide a core set of outcomes

The plan may be adapted as necessary – e.g. if there is a need to focus on a specific area of the business. In addition, we have included a list of criteria to assist the you, the mentor, during the feedback process. Below is the weekly breakdown of objectives we have set out for the entrepreneurs and is a helpful reference for you to use when engaging with the entrepreneurs.

Week 1 – Introduction and contracting

Introduce yourselves, including background, success stories what you would like to get out of the mentorship relationship etc.
Agree on best method of communication, times and weekly meet-up schedule.
Mentee to send business plan to mentor prior to first meeting.
Mentee to provide detail of business, areas of weakness and strength
Mentor to begin to evaluate business against the core criteria for success/prize money (as per below)
Establish the area/s of business where mentee needs the greatest support/direction.
This can then become the core goal/s for the mentorship relationship.
Keep in mind the judges criteria for competition application (Business plan, pitch and plan for spend)
Establish actionable outcomes with mentee based on conversation.

Week 2 – Sharing the dream: Pitching the Business plan

Check-in with previous week’s actionable outcomes/core goals.
Mentee to have sent mentor pitch and business plan ahead of second mentor session
Mentee to use this meeting to practise pitch and prepare questions
Mentor to prepare any questions based on criteria for success/prize money
Mentor to prepare any questions based on validity of idea, business plan and pitch
Mentor to provide constructive feedback on pitch and business plan
Establish actionable outcomes with mentee based on feedback on pitch and business plan – e.g. Mentee to incorporate feedback and re-pitch in 2 weeks time.

Week 3 – Execution and Operations

Check-in with previous week’s actionable outcomes/core goals.
Mentee to share execution and operations plan with mentor (preferably prior to session) and prepare questions.
Dive into the execution and operations section of the business plan
Mentor to provide input and constructive feedback on execution and operations plan
Continue conversations on other identified areas for improvement based on criteria and previous discussions
Establish actionable outcomes with mentee based on feedback on execution and operations plan/core goals.

Week 4 – Growth Strategies: Where to Next?

Check-in with previous week’s actionable outcomes/core goals.
Mentee to share growth strategies for their specific business with mentor (preferably prior to session) and prepare questions.
Mentor to assess suitability of growth strategies for the specific business.
This week should look closely at the sustainability and scalability of the business
Mentor to provide input and constructive feedback on sustainability and scalability of business
Continue conversations on other identified areas for improvement based on criteria and previous discussions
Establish actionable outcomes with mentee based on feedback given on scalability and sustainability/core goals.

Week 5 – Re-visit pitch and business plan

Check-in with previous week’s actionable outcomes/core goals.
Mentee to pitch their business plan based on feedback
Mentor to provide input and constructive feedback based on pitch criteria
Address any outstanding areas on the business plan
Continue conversations on other identified areas for improvement based on criteria and previous discussions
Establish actionable outcomes with mentee based on feedback given to date and core goals.

Week 6 – Discuss plan for prize money

Check-in with previous week’s actionable outcomes/core goals.
Discuss the plan for the prize money should the mentee win
Ensure that all core prize money criteria is covered
Continue conversations on other identified areas for improvement based on criteria and previous discussions
At this point both mentee and mentor should be feeling satisfied with the business plan and pitch – perhaps final tweaks still taking place
Establish actionable outcomes with mentee based on suggestions for prize money plan and core goals.

Week 7 – Evaluate plan for prize money

Check-in with previous week’s actionable outcomes/core goals.
Mentee to have prepared prize money plan for mentor’s final input
Mentee should have prepared business plan for final input
Mentor to provide final guidance and suggestions
Continue conversations on other identified areas for improvement based on criteria and previous discussions
Establish actionable outcomes with mentee based on feedback and core goals.

Week 8 – Complete Mentorship Relationship

Final check-in with previous week’s actionable outcomes/core goals.
Wrap-up any final tasks, adjustments and thoughts
Discuss time together, learnings, achievements and way forward.
Mentee to thank mentor for time etc.

We would like to thank our mentors for taking the time to mentor the Startup School entrepreneurs and we wish both mentor and mentee best of luck on the programme.