How to Be a Mentor, Part II
- Jun 18, 2014
- 3 min read
By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO and Pet Industry Entrepreneur
I recently had the privilege of being asked to mentor a young tech entrepreneur from Kenya named Catherine Kiguru, Chief Innovator of Ukall.
Through Kristin Barrett, Vice President of 1871, I was put in touch with Yuritzi Acosta of CDRF Global, one of the sponsors of the 2014 GIST Entrepreneurship Journey. The Global Innovation Through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative aims to forge local and global partnerships among technology entrepreneurs, angel investors, experts, and mentors, with the goal of fostering human progress and prosperity through the Middle East, Turkey, Asia, and Africa.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I may not have time for a lot of things these days, but I always take time to be a mentor. The time I spent with Ms Kiguru was only three hours total, but what I gained from the interaction was nearly priceless.
About fifteen minutes into our first mentoring session at 1871, I thought to myself, “Our businesses have no overlap, but let’s keep searching for the common ground.” By the half hour mark, I was awash in admiration at the scope, ambition, and implementation of Ms Kiguru’s business plan. (If you haven’t checked out what Ukall does yet, take a few minutes to do so. It’s mighty impressive, on quite a few levels.)
I would say that the first hour of the program was spent getting to know each other’s businesses; the second hour was spent getting to know each other. I am really almost without words to describe how extraordinary Ms Kiguru is, and how much I benefited from our time together. But when I put all of the facts contained in our conversations aside, what I came to realize as the most meaningful part of any mentorship is this: Support Matters.
Certainly, investors and seed capital and introductions are the bread and butter of any entrepreneur’s existence, but what can really sustain you through the long hours and endless misgivings is the thoughtful, rational support of people who have been there before you. I know what it’s like to not sleep for years on end, to scramble to meet payroll, and to start from scratch with a new team of developers when the old ones can’t deliver. I know how it feels to get frustrated with people who want to pat me on the head and send me on my way because they think there is no way I could ever make a go of it as a business owner. I know all of these things very well, because it happens every time I start a business. To pass along how to survive those experiences and come out better and stronger on the other side is something far more valuable than just having a great contact list or a little extra money to invest.
So get out there and make yourself available! Truly, three hours with another person can change your life.
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If you’d like to get involved with CDRF Global and future GIST Initiatives, contact them here.
If you’re interested in what 1871 has to offer, go here. I can guarantee that you will feel brainier the second you walk in the door; you’ll also meet some seriously smart and well-connected people there (more on that next week in Part III of this series).
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