Why Do Mentors Mentor?

What do mentors get out of it that entrepreneurs need to know about?

It was Day 3 of Unreasonable Lab NZ. Entrepreneurs had been through several iterations already in their venture and were exhausted by mid week. “But in a good way, right?” asked Lauren Merritt, Chief Awesome Officer. “Relax now. We’re going at a different pace today and showing you how to B.u.i.l.d S.t.r.o.n.g F.r.i.e.n.d.s (an Unreasonably long mnemonic device); how to prepare for Mentor Day tomorrow.”

We had 15 of the best mentors from all over the world to participate in Unreasonable Lab New Zealand, the country’s first business model validation accelerator for early stage ideas. We matched these mentors with entrepreneurs (or teams) for 45-minute “office hours” around the coworking space — Shift Culture. To get the best value for the day, we prepared them on the morning of Day 3 for those sessions and hosted mock “office hours” with them.

“Sorry if this is obvious but why do mentors mentor anyway?” asked one of the entrepreneurs during the workshop. Surprise! We were busy giving the rundown on how to approach high-level advisors and mentors and needed to take a step back. Mentors do it for all sorts of reasons and below are the top three:

1. Mentors get energized from fresh, new startups. They remember a day when they were in your shoes, green and ready to take on the world! That energy can’t be bottled up but maybe the closest thing to it is being in the same room as a budding entrepreneur. They can take that back into their own venture and feel reenergized by someone else.
2. It fulfills their altruistic self. This is just one way many people can give back to society. Besides being down the road of failure and sharing those learnings with someone, mentors simply like to give back. Being busy individuals themselves, this is one way they can pay it forward.
3. In the case of a group setting like Unreasonable Lab, Mentors do it to meet like-minded people. It’s not often mentors get to all sit in the same room as one another. They get to meet new people and reconnect with people they may not have seen in awhile. Again, busy people.

One day, you’ll be asked to mentor. No doubt, you’ll have your own reasons then too. Lots of mentors are asked to mentor and it’s important to remember they’re regular people just like you. They have their reasons but it’s a choice they’ve made. They want to help. They want to be there. It’s up to you to make the most of their time.