Product & Proposition Design

A Business advisors or Startup Mentor is a person, who have seen many startups and their respective products. He gives you a realistic outside view of your product and proposition. Not only this, critical evaluation comes with suggestions also. It could be a technical preview or UI/UX or even the market readiness of the product, pricing or monetization model, all these are seen with indepth details by a Business advisors or Startup Mentors, post which the detail deliberation on the same can be done by the founder(s).

Growth & Marketing

Business advisors or Startup Mentors are the experienced professionals who have see several business growing. They envisions the market outlook and suggest the course of correction before the heavy spends on marketing. It saves the costs of trial and errors and definitely the time to market get reduced. Business advisors or Startup Mentors suggests the markets and possible pitfalls due to which business may be ready with sales processes and avoid all such risks and losses.

Financial Advisory

Financial Advisory comes with some of the Business advisors or Startup Mentors who are or were financial advisors also. They understands the cashflows and keep a check on initiatives that could be a money drain for the company. They keep a tight check on target revenues and expenses that help companies to remain afloat for long horizons. They also help in keeping the financials ready for Financial due diligence and Legal due diligence which are generally done before the fund raise.

HR & Team building

Business advisors or Startup Mentors have seen larger teams and their nuances. While building teams, they remain part of recruitment process and help in choosing the right candidates for the organizations. They also help founders in choosing the right co founders or other core team members as well.

Business Advisor or Startup Mentor in India

Most entrepreneurs will agree that starting and running a business successfully are not the same. They want to ensure that you do everything in your power to survive among the competition and grow successfully over the years. There are so many factors that actually lead to the success of a business from the cohesive force of the business team, the viability of the business idea, team expertise & experience, the experience of the start-up founders, etc.

But, what do you think is the secret sauce behind long-term business success? Well, studies have suggested that having a mentor and great business leadership early on in the business could make all the difference for start-ups. Particularly, young entrepreneurs who come with little experience have higher probabilities to lose golden opportunities or fall for pitfalls in absence of a good mentor.

But, who are Business advisors or Startup Mentors?  Business advisors or Startup Mentors are professionals who come with years of experience in any particular business industry or hold deep knowledge of the investment market. Regardless of the viability of the product/service being offered or how much traction has been gained, entrepreneurs need guidance & support from time to time to manage their responsibilities with a positive mindset. Business advisors or Startup Mentors help entrepreneurs to answer certain questions by sharing their knowledge and contacts harvested through their years of experience not only fulfilling the executive functions but also understanding the process and evolution of the project catering specifically to the needs of the start-ups by offering them guidance & support, helping start-up employees to develop their skills and achieve their professional goals.

Start-ups who have regularly received mentorship from Business advisors or Startup Mentors have reported positive benefits such as an increase in turnover, productivity, business growth, and prolonged life of their business as compared to non-mentored businesses.

Key qualities to look for in a good Business Advisor or Mentor for your Start-up

According to a study made by Endeavour insights on the start-up ecosystem relying on data sources such as LinkedIn, Crunchbase and AngelList reported that around 33% of the successful start-ups were mentored by thriving entrepreneurs, which means that there is a strong correlation between the success of a start-up and start-ups mentoring, then apparently you should get a mentor. Now that we have understood the meaning and importance of a start-up mentor, the next thing that comes to mind is the attributes to look for in an ideal mentor.

Though it is not possible to have all these qualities in one person, you may need to have two or three mentors with different levels of engagement to guide you. But if in case you get a mentor with all the above characteristics, you will benefit from his or her guidance.

Critical Elements to look for in a Business advisors or Startup Mentors

Thus, provided below are the five critical elements very start-ups should look for in a Business advisor or Startup Mentor-

Knowledge & Experience

Start-ups and entrepreneurs looking to grow their business should consider a Business advisor or Startup Mentor having knowledge and experience in a similar industry vertical or specified area as they will help entrepreneurs to understand the nuances of the concerned business & nature of the market. Further, an industry veteran will have more empathy towards someone belonging to their industry making it easier to make shared communications.

An Entrepreneur

Second, as a start-up founder, you should look for a Business advisor or Startup Mentor who has gone through the phases of entrepreneurship and has managed to come out successfully. Mentors coming from corporates with large businesses are reasonable, but validating an idea, raising money, and steering the business through tough times is an entirely different thing. Thus, a good mentor will have integrity, courage, and brutal honesty to give you the right advice.

Has better network reach

Sometimes rather than mentorship, young entrepreneurs may look for mentors having a better network reach which could help their start-up to grow connections in the business industry and the ecosystem in which it is operating. Thus, a Business advisor or Startup Mentor with stronger connections in the industry could help the start-up with early customer trials, strategic engagements, potential customers, interested investors, etc., and many more. For instance, investors might feel safer investing in a start-up referred to them by their network.

Compatibility

Since during the period of your mentorship, as a founder you will be working closely with the mentor, it is necessary to have good chemistry between the mentor & mentee. A good Business advisor or Startup Mentor would be open to communication and help you to look at the bigger picture while helping you through the various trials and tribulations faced by the start-up. Most often entrepreneurs face common problems like depression & blues, but with the right mentor, a mentee can excel and optimize his guidance.

Visionary & Problem Solver

Lastly, the other two qualities to look for in a Business advisor or Startup Mentor include –a person who is a problem solver and a visionary by nature. Such a Business advisor or Startup Mentor should be someone who could help you look beyond the current problems and find a reasonable solution for any matter be it raising funds, accessing any advanced technology, or any markets in near future. Further, the mentor should be able to help you to build solutions for problems out of his experiential knowledge to tackle similar situations. Additionally, a such Business advisor or Startup Mentor will also help start-ups to understand changing markets & technology, generate an additional source of business revenue, grow & expand their business and build a strong market position.

What are the ways Business Advisors or Start-up Mentors can help you?

Here are some ways in which the start-up mentors could assist you with your start-up-

 Expansion of your professional network

Having the right connections is a critical need for any start-up, especially after the digitalization of everything around us. For instance, a referral for your start-up from a vendor that supplies to a large corporation has much more leverage than cold calling. Thus, even if your key focus is your business operations or product development, you need to have time to connect & identify the best connections out there for the exponential growth of your business.

So, if you find a Business advisor or Startup Mentor with a chain of good network connections, keep him close and request an introduction whenever you can. A start-up mentor could also help entrepreneurs to develop the right interpersonal skill sets which could be helpful to interact with their potential business clients and investors. Further, they could also help their mentees to catch the right growth opportunities by referring or introducing people in their networks which would not have been possible otherwise.

Get external advice paired with insider knowledge

Most entrepreneurs find it harder to make decisions due to the absence of proper industry knowledge or experience, Business advisor or Startup Mentor with years of experience in a similar field can offer invaluable advice that can be quite insightful out of their industry experience and connections. They could also offer an external view to offer a clearer view of things that could work or things that could not. And, in the process, they could even divulge insightful knowledge that entrepreneurs might not have discovered by just observing business processes.

Start-up looking for a product fit

Start-up founders intending to test any particular product/service or seeking market validation for their products could benefit from a good Business advisor or Startup Mentor who will help them with the processes or introduce them to a potential business partner especially one with certain corporate background. If they agree, it will save months of research work and even the difficulties related to convincing people to connect & listen to their business idea.

Scaling opportunities for your business

Start-up founders looking to scale their business either locally or globally could benefit from an industry veteran mentor who will help with useful insights for necessary business functions like innovation, sales, or marketing business functions, which could be helpful to scale their start-up business.

Fundraising Assistance

Every start-up has to raise funds sooner or later at any stage. Usually, start-up founders find it tough to raise funds in absence of appropriate knowledge & guidance. Thus, having a Business advisor or Startup Mentor who has raised funds successfully in multiple rounds may provide you with useful insights and may even help you to connect with a potential investor for your business. When you are looking to fundraise advice from your mentors, it is a good idea to seek advice from a mentor who is either well-connected to investors or a mentor who is an investor himself.

How to Find a Perfect Business Advisor or Mentor for Your Start-up?

Now that you are convinced that having a good mentor could be valuable for your start-up, you need to know the right sources for you to locate and onboard one of them. There are various ways in which start-up founders & entrepreneurs could connect and introduce your start-up to them. If possible, try joining an incubator, accelerator, challenge, or hackathon program. Finding the right start-up mentor is hard, but not impossible. Here are some of the sources where you could locate a perfect mentor for your start-up

Social Media platforms

In the age of digitization, social media platforms such as LinkedIn & Twitter are powerful apps that could help entrepreneurs to search & find mentors following their requirements by using keyword search. Further, there are other alternative platforms such as the Intch app, which consists of a start-up community that makes it easier to discuss their business idea, receive pieces of advice and meet potential clients.

Online Mentorship Networks

Next, there are many online mentorship programs dedicated to connecting potential mentors with professionals. Submit your details here at samnivesh.com Here entrepreneurs could sign up and locate upcoming advisors belonging to any certain industry or general mentors, build connections and interact with each other to start a partnership.

Volunteer Events

Volunteer events are yet another good place to meet expert professionals who may be looking for ways to use their knowledge and experience. Attending such volunteer events is a good way to meet people and build contacts in the industry. For instance, Volunteer Match is an online platform that allows you to get volunteering opportunities in your city as per your interests.

Industry Meetups

Industry meetups are the best places to find a perfect Business advisor or Startup Mentor in any specific industry sector. Such events include events like networking events, conferences, speaking events, meet-ups, and trade shows.

Networking Events

Lastly, there are certain networking events designed to bring groups of professionals and entrepreneurs together and build long-lasting business relationships. Entrepreneurs could join such events and meet people with a focus to know them & their visions better. Not only young entrepreneurs, but established business leaders also look for new contacts to meet prospective partners, employees, or potential clients in the future.

 Conclusion

Therefore, Business advisors or Startup Mentors play an important role in supporting start-ups in the early stages and entrepreneurs going through difficult times. A good mentor could help to solve your queries, give pieces of advice, meet people in their network and encourage you to move further even during times when you feel like giving –up helping to see things in the long term. Having a good mentor in place could develop into a meaningful and long-lasting relationship while pushing you to grow your early-stage start-up into a successful business.