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The startup life is both exhilarating and exhausting in almost equal measure. One of the things people often find is that there are certain points where they are simply unaware of how to proceed ,specially young entrepreneurs !
Because of that and more, having someone experienced in the industry who you can rely on for advice is a great choice. Now, let us see five of the top reasons every young tech entrepreneur needs a mentor
Today, startups can access an incredible amount of information, much of which can be very helpful to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly those not well-versed in business practices.
Related: You can now raise funds for your business on BEAM
While you can read up on many things and watch TED talks and presentations, nothing compares to getting advice from someone who has actual experience in your current industry. There are some things which you will simply not find anywhere except from a real live person, and that is one of the most crucial things to understand.
Of course, not every mentor will be able to provide these things. One thing that some startups do is fail to understand that certain formulas are only applicable in certain situations, and the same things applies to mentors.
In that sense, the very experience of the mentor you are seeking is a vital component to consider. You need someone who has knowledge of your industry, the current trends, and everything else that will help you in your niche.
Of course, finding someone like that is not an easy process, but quality is something that you should never be skimping on.
If you are a student then platform like Goodwall Mentors are a good place to start, particularly if you are still in the planning phases. That is because they can give you access to people with real-world experience without you having to invest anything.
Any successful mentor will have established a very decent network before they even think of offering advice to any startup. This is a huge problem for startups worldwide. Even if you have a great product, good connections are an invaluable asset that you simply cannot access easily.
A mentor will be able to tap you into their own network and they will actively work on promoting your work and getting you in touch with the right people. After all, they will be invested in you and your future success so it makes sense for them to do so.
Related: You can now find jobs on BEAM
That, however, does not mean that you should rely solely on a mentor for networking opportunities, as most of them will also tell you. A mentor is neither your boss nor your guide; they are simply there to offer advice and some extra help.
Even so, networking is one aspect of business that is extremely hard to comprehend for those outside of the business world and is something that many in the tech industry struggle with.
Surrounding yourself with “yes men” is a fantastic way of ruining any hope for long-term success. When you are involved with a startup or are an aspiring entrepreneur, you will be very passionate about whatever it is you are working on.
While that is absolutely necessary in this world, it can also blind you to certain truths. You will definitely want to hear about how great your product or service is but the fact is some aspects of it are guaranteed to need some work.
When you work on a project for months at a time, you may be oblivious to its faults. A mentor will provide you with true feedback from an outside perspective. This can be a hard pill to swallow for some people, but those people are rarely deserving of entrepreneurial success to begin with.
If you do a simple search right now, you will find dozens of tech startups that offer great products and services along with hundreds of entrepreneurs with amazing ideas and theoretical concepts.
Ideas and thoughts, however, are incredibly hard to translate to reality. You can build a great app, for instance, and have a fantastic marketing campaign that has generated a lot of interest. After that, however, you may have no idea how to proceed because your business plan is abysmal.
A good mentor will be able to identify any and all faults in your tech startup. They will easily improve your chances of success for the simple reason that they have gone through similar steps and have actual knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.
For many entrepreneurs, seeing beyond the immediate future can be a real challenge. When everything is hard, from financing to developing the product, knowing what lies on the other side of the fence is often impossible.
With a mentor, however, you will be able to truly understand what is going to happen in an almost step-by-step manner. While the journey is unique to each startup, there are some obvious similarities as well.
Even better, a good mentor will be able to tell you exactly what to expect if and when your startup becomes successful. Knowing how to handle things is crucial, and this is an area that any startup will benefit from.
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