How to Become a World-Class Mentor
Learn best practices for supporting startups at the earliest stages from the author who inspired the Techstars Mentor Manifesto.
A Startup’s (not-so) Secret Weapon
Behind nearly every world-changing startup is a great mentor, providing essential feedback on the business and its growth, industry specific knowledge, and emotional support.
In this session international thought leaders will share their experiences with mentoring and explain the characteristics demonstrated by those which are best in class.
Knowledge You Will Gain
Learn practical, actionable advice from mentors and entrepreneurs on the best methods for supporting founders.
Mentoring Principles
Learn which behaviours and norms the best mentors in the world have in common - from the people that wrote the book on it.
Structuring a Session
Understand how to give and get the most out of the time you have with a startup from timing and questions to prep work and follow ups.
Maximising your Impact
Find out the most impactful stages for startup mentoring, and learn about mentor curation & onboarding.
Previous Speakers
Brad Feld
Co-founder | Foundry Group & Techstars
Early stage investor, entrepreneur, writer and speaker with books including Startup Communities, Venture Deals and The Startup Community Way.
Allison Kopf
Co-founder | Artemis
Forbes 2019 30 Under 30 and founder of NYC-based AgTech startup - raised $10M.
Jason Adams
Co-founder | minMAX
Army special ops turned people leader with 15 years of experience in AAA gaming companies such as Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Riot games.
Jon Bradford
Partner | Dynamo Ventures
Founded Techstars Europe and Motive Partners, a €500M fund. 'Godfather of European Accelerators.'
“Mentorship, when done correctly, is magical. A great mentor is focused on a ‘give before you get’ dynamic, with a willingness to let the relationship go wherever it takes them.”
Brad Feld | Co-Founder - Techstars & Foundry Group
Author of The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
An Interactive & Immersive Schedule
This Masterclass will cover the following topics:
1. Kick-Off - (09:00 - 09:10)
Welcome & Introduction
Learning Outcomes & Topic Overview
2. Mentoring Principles - (09:10 - 10:15)
Interview with global expert Brad Feld
Techstars Mentor Manifesto - 18 principles
Insights from Jon Bradford on which are most important
Interactive discussion with breakout groups
3. Structuring your Sessions - (10:25 - 11:25)
Types of sessions; which are the most effective?
Guiding the conversation and asking the right questions
Applying best practices from Google
Founder perspective from both sides of the table
4. Getting Started & Wrap - (11:25 - 11:30)
Vision for mentorship and mentor programmes in Ireland
Next steps & how to get involved
Course Details
When is it: To be announced
Time Commitment: 2.5 hours (includes breaks)
Format: Fully virtual session
How to Prepare: Download/update the Zoom desktop app, make sure your video and audio are clear, and have a stable internet connection
Description: Mentors are a critical part of both the startup ecosystem and founder journey. In this session global thought leaders Brad Feld (Foundry Group & Techstars) and Jon Bradford (Dynamo Ventures) will detail their inspiration for Techstars’ Mentor Manifesto, 18 principles world-class mentors demonstrate, and their experiences mentoring across the world. You will also learn best practices on how to structure your mentoring sessions to be more effective from a founder/VC, coaching experts, and Google.