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Goals

The goal is to follow the entrepreneurs over a longer period of time, and to help them implement solutions to face their main challenges.

MATERIAL AND TOOLS

  • Computer
  • Phone to call mentors

ROLES

  • Facilitator/ Moderator
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Mentors

PREPARATION

1. Find entrepreneurs and frame a challenge

Contact early stage entrepreneurs

Note: If you don’t have entrepreneurs wannabe in your own networks, you can find entrepreneurs on social networks (facebook, linkedin, google etc), or entrepreneurs incubated in nearby incubators. It's time to put your contacts to work!

Frame a challenge for each entrepreneur

A good challenge should be narrow enough to bring concrete solutions, but not too narrow to stay open to several unlocking possibilities.

Here under, find the framework used to frame a challenge with an entrepreneur:

📋Supporting sheet - Initial diagnostic framework 📋.pdf

And to go further:

Tips for framing the challenge/what a good challenge is? - [ ] Focus on ONE challenge per Hold-Up and help the entrepreneur prioritize. - [ ] Summarize the challenge in a clear and engaging question "How do I get to...?" - [ ] Define a "SMART" challenge, goals and constraints - [ ] Specific: shows a paradox - [ ] Measurable: the difference between the starting point and what is to be achieved - [ ] Ambitious: brings real opportunities and tangible impact - [ ] Realistic - [ ] Time (defined in time): solutions must be implemented in 4 weeks? 3 months? 2 years? - [ ] Find the right level of precision and avoid giving answers in the wording of the challenge. For example, suggesting a specific way to do something may be the reason the contractor can't think of an alternative. - [ ] Make sure the goals and constraints are directly related to the challenge.
Examples of good challenges - [ ] How to define a communication strategy on instagram and stick to it? - [ ] How do I determine my communication strategy for a successful launch of my crowdfunding campaign? - [ ] How to find a viable business model for the project? - [ ] You can find a challenging framework in the last part of this doc.

2. Find mentors and do the matching

Contact mentors relevant to solve the entrepreneurs' challenges

You can find mentors posting announcements on social networks, contacting professionals on linkedin or using your own network (or your company network). Present them the entrepreneurs and validate with them the long-term follow-up of an entrepreneur (by calling them).

The call with the mentors lasts about 30 minutes.

Here is a possible agenda for your call - [ ] Quick introduction of self and mentor. - [ ] Presentation of the program and what is expected of the mentors: - [ ] 1 coaching posture (see training slides at the end) - [ ] 1 contact with the contractor before the workshop - [ ] 1 call with the entrepreneur every 2 weeks. - [ ] 1 call with us every month to check that everything is going well - [ ] 1 commitment over 4-6 months. - [ ] Q&A - [ ] Introduction of the entrepreneur - [ ] Q&A - [ ] Validation with the mentor of their investment in the program AND the entrepreneur they agree to mentor.

Nb: There is no paper to sign, it's just a moral contract.

Connect women entrepreneurs with their mentors

Here’s an example of email you can send to the entrepreneur and her mentor to make contact:

Hi everyone,

I am sending you this email to initiate contact.* ☺️

(entrepreneur name) you will find your mentor (mentor name) as recipient of this mail, and vice versa. (mentor name) will be great to help you with your communication strategy (or another topic).

So I'll let you get to know her in the following days!

If you have any questions, feel free. Wishing you a nice day

3. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Once it is set up, your role is going to be the one of the facilitator. You have to make sure that:

  • mentors and entrepreneurs have started working together and have defined clear goals and rituals to achieve them;
  • the mentors do not face a disinvestment of your innovators and that the latter are present during the sessions having done their work;
  • the mentor-mentee relationship goes well and is not discouraging for the innovator but rather empowering, equipping and guiding.

To do so we recommend:

giving a framework for the mentor/mentee pairs - [ ] What's up today? - [ ] Update on the progress of the project. - [ ] Update on the work done since the last call. - [ ] Exchange on the work, feedbacks and improvement tracks. - [ ] Q&A - [ ] Update on new needs. - [ ] Next steps (to do list for the next session) - [ ] Set the next meeting.
ask your entrepreneurs to make written reports after each session Here is a template: [Report on the mentoring sessions.pdf](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/f757517e-e62f-40c6-bae4-7e3356ef0a3d/Report_on_the_mentoring_sessions.pdf)
call your mentors once a month to ensure that possible agenda: - What’s up? - Roundtable: how is your follow-up going? Is it working well with your entrepreneur? Do you feel comfortable in this support? - Q&A - Roundtable 2: How do you organize yourself (frequency of calls, reports etc.)? - Q&A - Roundtable 3: Do you have any best practices to share? Any failures to avoid? - Q&A - Next steps
do the same with your entrepreneurs possible agenda: - What’s up? - Roundtable: how is your follow-up going? Is it working well with your mentor? Do you feel comfortable in this support? - Q&A - Roundtable 2: How do you organize yourself (frequency of calls, reports etc.)? - Q&A - Roundtable 3: Do you have any best practices to share? Any failures to avoid? - Q&A - Roundtable 4: Do you need more help with other subjects? - Next steps

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

Therefore, to set up a mentorship program with all the resources at hand, we provide you with several documents in this Drive (some that you found already above):

  1. the slides of the coaching posture training
  2. the framework used to frame a challenge with an entrepreneur
  3. the challenge framework (to write the challenge on)
  4. example of communication plan and action plan.
  5. an example of document where entrepreneurs can report after each mentoring session with their mentors
Last update: December 2, 2022