Events

The WISE Tech Mentors Roundtable provided a platform for meaningful discussions on enhancing the mentor-founder dynamic. Esteemed mentors, including former CXOs, GPs, and domain experts, collaborated to deliberate on critical aspects of mentorship and its role in fostering entrepreneurial success.

Manoj Mohan, Director of WISE Tech, opened the session by sharing updates on recent achievements and upcoming plans. Following this, mentors engaged in in-depth discussions on key topics:

• The mentor-start-up dynamic: Setting boundaries, expectations, and success metrics
• Pivots and perseverance: When (and how) startups should change course
• Balancing handholding and independence: The ideal support model for startup incubators and accelerators
• Avoiding common pitfalls in mentor-mentee relationships: How founders can extract the best from their mentors

The discussions highlighted actionable insights to enhance mentorship quality and foster stronger mentor-founder relationships. The takeaways from the roundtable included:

• Clarity drives impact: Founders thrive when they clearly articulate their problem statement, value proposition, and specific asks from mentors. This shared understanding sets the stage for productive conversations.
• Create tailored support models: Personalisation is key! Whether offering curated mentor recommendations based on expertise or personality fit—it’s all about creating meaningful connections.
• Build structured feedback loops: Mentorship is a two-way street. From post-session questionnaires to milestone tracking, creating feedback mechanisms ensures that founders and mentors grow from each interaction.
• Empower the founders: Mentors guide; they don’t decide. The best mentors act as sounding boards, helping founders think critically and arrive at their own decisions. Ownership always lies with the founder.
• Systemise training and guidelines: Setting expectations upfront for mentors and founders goes a long way. A simple orientation or framework can make every session more productive.