Say Yes to Mentorship
Nicole Enns
Have you ever wanted to step outside of your comfort zone, learn a new skill or take the next step in your career, but realized you are too intimidated to start the process? Mentorship is a great way to overcome that intimidation and, despite what many may believe, mentorship is beneficial regardless of where you are in your career.
Here at Chic Geek we work hard to create a welcoming environment where individuals feel supported as they advance their skills in technology and entrepreneurship — and we found mentorship to be the greatest tool in completing that goal. Our annual Mentorship Program pairs tech savvy veterans with knowledge hungry entrepreneurs. Through our program individuals (men and women) have enhanced their public speaking skills, solved current business problems, and even built applications from scratch. We support our team and are proud of what they have accomplished, just check out Mia Goloshchapova.
Mia is a recent graduate of Chic Geek’s Mentorship Program and here she will explain her journey. Mia joined the program with a vision of launching a wine startup, but wasn’t sure how to begin. She joined Chic Geek’s mentorship program and after six months was able to refine her business idea and is now working towards building an at-home wine tasting experience!
Mia’s wine testing event will teach you the basics of true blind wine tasting and help build appreciation for the various subtle flavors (like they do it in wineries)! It involves interactive learning, voting and guessing (to test what you have learned!)… and naturally lots of fun. It’s a party after all!
CG: What was your initial idea when entering the mentorship program?
Mia: I knew I wanted some help with a startup, but had no idea which angle to approach it from. You see, my entire professional career revolved around the corporate world and I was looking for a new environment that was agile and entrepreneurial. I was also hoping to find some inspiration and motivation to stay focused… and Chic Geek gave me the hope that I can find it all in the program!
CG: How did your experience in the mentorship program help refine your business model?
Mia: I was lucky with the mentor that was assigned to me (Steven Kenway), he was very supportive, and had just the experience and personality that helped me focus on the right things, and learn the ropes. He was a great resource I could consult with. The fact that he had his own successful startup helped draw analogies and, in some cases, I followed Steven’s suit.
CG: Explain your journey during the mentorship program — did your idea pivot?
Mia: Oh yes! A few times actually. Initially I thought I would create a wine subscription service that will educate the folks of the wine basics. I was naive enough to think that my idea was original. As the R&D progressed, I realized that there are so many similar services out there in the market that it didn’t make sense to enter it. As discussions progressed, the idea of my current startup was born and I found my niche — a self-guided wine tasting experience at home!
CG: Has your business idea improved since your experience with the Chic Geek mentorship program?
Mia: It really helped to be amongst like minded individuals and join a creative and positive group! As I hoped, it gave me inspiration and ideas, and it helped expand my professional network!
CG: What are your plans for the future?
Mia: I am planning to bring my business to fruition, and release the “Party Box” with a self guided experience to the market in December and with a pre-order open in November, just in time for all the Christmas parties. I am also working on establishing a few partnerships with wine distributors to get better deals on wines to my customers. It’s all very exciting!
Check out my website below — it’s still a bit rusty, but full version should be released at the end of the month.
CG: Any final advice for those interested in mentorship?
Mia: Definitely take everything you can out of it. Mentorship is tricky in a way that you really need to know what you want to get out of it. You need to set goals and drive the process, while letting your mentor steer you in the right direction. It’s entirely up to you to create your experience and achieve your goals.
How you can get involved with mentorship
The first step in accepting a mentorship is understanding that you can do it. You don’t need to know everything or even anything about technology or entrepreneurship in order to come to learn. As long as you are interested in learning, you will succeed.
Be supportive of others
Support those learning around you. Being driven, curious and capable will help take your skills to the next level.
Feel comfortable
Remember that mentoring takes time. You will feel nervous at first, yet it takes guts to begin a mentorship program and if you have the courage to start you have the courage to finish!
Want to get involved with Chic Geek’s mentorship program? Click here for more info!
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