White paper on entrepreneurial mentoring

Key elements in the design of an
entrepreneurial mentoring programme
Stéphanie MITRANO, transition designer, merkapt
Executive summary
Entrepreneurial mentoring is an efficient form of support from experienced entrepreneurs for
novice entrepreneurs, which complements other practices used by incubators and other
organisations supporting entrepreneurship. In order to implement such a programme, it is
necessary to understand the key success factors of a mentoring relationship such as the mentors
and mentees’ profiles and the inter-personal and professional fit between the members of the
dyads. Organisations initiating an entrepreneurial mentoring programme can foster these success
factors by implementing a few key actions such as the creation and coordination of a network of
entrepreneurs around shared values of solidarity, sharing and personal development; the training
and preparation of mentors and mentees - you don’t become a mentor just because you are
experienced; and the coordination of the dyad’s matching. Designing a mentoring programme
needs to follow a few important rules which are presented in this white paper.
!
merkapt innovation copilots, 2013 1/11

Why write a white paper
Merkapt is an innovation co-pilot agency. We design and implement successful innovation
strategies for market segments that may seem diametrically opposed to the neophyte: from
networks of startups to major international technology groups1.
In practice, these two segments share essentially the same problem facing innovation: there is no
innovation without risk, and taking risks is not easy to organise. And in both cases, we hence
propose a spectrum of services to gather the specific effective conditions in order to build quite
risky innovations, so they have a chance to change the markets in which our customers operate.
The keywords are: business model innovation, incubation, excubation, intrapreneurship, transition
design, executive coaching and mentoring.
Once that is said, some probably may still maintain a little outdated image of consulting agencies.
Since 2007, date of creation of the agency, it seemed to be particularly complicated to be outdated
while working in the field of innovation and risk. As a result, we share our experience as often as
possible. It is a fundamental principle in any agile business wishing to progress in his technical and
operational control. How can we not embrace it?
You will find in this short document the key points on which we base much of our work related to
the design of mentoring programs in networks of innovative entrepreneurs. This white paper is
under a creative commons license, encouraging you to disseminate and share in a few simple
rules of etiquette2.
!
1 Accenture, Airbus, Allianz, BP, Caisse d’Epargne, Caisse des Dépôts, CEA, CMA CGM, EADS, ERDF, Gemalto,
Pfizer...
2 Identical reproduction, no commercial use, and attribution of the work to its author.

What is entrepreneurial mentoring?
Entrepreneurs are a key driver of wealth creation of our modern economies. It is hardly surprising
that many entrepreneurship support agencies are considered essential for a successful economic
development.
The risk of failure being three times higher for companies less than five years old, most support
organisations direct their effort in the initial stages of project creation and are looking, if not to
cancel, at least to minimise its specific risks: financial, human and commercial. These agencies
often constituted into networks, can be training or guidance organisations, support structures,
public agencies providing support in the form of goods or services, information, networking and
various other services. These networks of entrepreneurship sharing and learning may be formed
by informal communities of people or by formal vocational structures. The main challenge of these
forms of support is unique. It lies in the development of critical reflexivity of the entrepreneur rather
than increasing the knowledge base: support structures favour the internalization of knowledge,
ability to improvise and empowerment of the leader. Among the specific arrangements for
accompanying adult development, we find counselling, coaching, training and mentoring. All these
forms of support are designed to help a person in his personal and professional development
through the transmission of knowledge, experience, know-how and skills.
Since the 90’s, several governments and government agencies have been using entrepreneurial
mentoring programs, in parallel with other conventional forms of support for entrepreneurs such as
loans at lower interest rates, targeted sector subsidies, training programs, incubation cells or
networking.
Mentoring is a form of support that helps mentees to find
meaning while remaining in an experiential mode of
learning. In his activity, the mentor is defined as an
experienced person who gives his time, with no relation of
interest, shares his experience and offers a space for
reflection in order to facilitate the transition of a novice
towards performance in his new role.
We understand that this method of support for the entrepreneur is of high specificity in that it
juxtaposes a voluntary not-for-profit activity to the profit-oriented interests of the entrepreneur-
mentee, and those of the collective economy. Most other methods of support are organised,
punctual and often carried out by paid professionals. In addition, mentoring being an holistic
!
Entrepreneurial mentoring
is a voluntary support for
novice entrepreneur by an
experienced entrepreneur.

approach to supporting a person and his entrepreneurial project on a extended period of time, it is
clearly distinguishable from a consulting intervention, or individual and collective training, which
have different objectives (often purely professional) and are conducted with a short period of time.
We also need to distinguish clearly mentoring from coaching which can be done over long periods,
but only aims to improve the efﬁcacy of the coachee regardless of the project.
Has mentoring a real impact on an entrepreneur’s
success?
Entrepreneurial mentoring programs can be implemented in incubators or organisations
developing, encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship. These programs complement other
novice entrepreneurs’ support practices in the process of starting or taking over a business.
Mentoring provides a neo-entrepreneur with the experience of an entrepreneur who has already
lived the creation, growth or takeover of a company. Knowing its challenges, and pitfalls, he can
share the keys to accelerate the process which can be complex and stressful. In addition, the
mentor has no interest in the mentee's business so he can provide a neutral and benevolent help
to the mentee who feels hence less lonely in his decision-making process and may also confront
ideas, take a step back and consider his entrepreneurial project as a whole.
Support organisations often provide expert advice or
coaching. Mentoring is not a substitute for such advice, but
provides a more long term and holistic support.
Many governmental and non-proﬁt organisations aiming to
develop entrepreneurship have implemented such mentoring
programs: business incubator Créativa at Agroparc Avignon,
Le Camping start-up accelerator in Paris, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris with the
Institute of Entrepreneurial Mentoring, Réseau Entreprendre, Moovjee (Movement for Youth and
Student Entrepreneurs), France Initiatives etc.
These support
organisations !nd that
the survival rate of
mentored businesses is
much higher than the
French national average.
!

Why would an experienced entrepreneur give his time?
Mentors must remain volunteers in order to create a trusting relationship devoid of any interest with
the mentee. This relationship allows for an unbiased neutrality in their discussions, mentee’s safe
self-disclosure, and long-term support. The question that remains is: why would an experienced
entrepreneur give his time, energy and experience, and share his network with no ﬁnancial return?
It is interesting here to take a look at the mentor’s motivations.
Through my research, my consulting work, mentoring programmes diagnostics and interviews with
mentors, I was able to identify the following reasons:
✓ Altruistic desire to help another, the satisfaction to
feel useful and contribute to the economic
development of the territory;
✓ The intellectual enrichment to exchange with younger entrepreneurs going through
new experiences, to learn about new technologies, or new issues pertaining to the
sector, a generation;
✓ Recognition of the mentor status, pride to continue to contribute and generativity - the
passing of his knowledge to the new generation of entrepreneur;
✓ Personal development: through the practice of mentoring, the mentor can develop new
skills that can be useful in his own business and managerial practice.
The 4 success factors of entrepreneurial mentoring
For a mentoring relationship to be effective - satisfactory to both parties, enabling learning and
helping to achieve goals for the novice entrepreneur (the mentee ) and his mentor - four key
ingredients must be gathered:
1- Credible and engaged mentors with relational competencies.
It is preferable that the mentor is an entrepreneur himself and has had one or more successful
entrepreneurial experiences, which would confer him some credibility in the mentee’s eyes. In
addition, this approach being voluntary, the mentor must commit to the mentoring process which
!
Experienced
entrepreneurs can be
motivated to become
mentors by altruism...

can last from six months to three years depending on the programme. This commitment must be
voluntary and informed, mentors are usually motivated by altruistic values or willingness to help
(sharing knowledge, enabling growth, giving feedback), by a desire of intellectual enrichment and
personal development and sometimes by a need for recognition.
And finally, to be effective mentors should possess certain interpersonal skills such as listening
skills, empathy, and adopt a Socratic style (Socratic questioning) to encourage and facilitate
discussions with the mentee. Overall, the mentor entrepreneurs must certainly have experience in
entrepreneurship, but it is not enough to effectively exercise his mentor activity: his commitment
and style of intervention (detailed in Section 4) are key.
2- Engaged mentees who have relational competencies and need support.
The mentee must engage voluntarily in the process and recognise the need for support in order to
be open to the accompaniment of the mentor. In addition, he must possess - or be willing to
develop - interpersonal skills (listening, giving and receiving feedback, and reflecting upon the
mentor’s experiences and advice) which facilitate the relationship. Openness or the mentee’s level
of "self-disclosure" is essential in the mentoring relationship, it makes it possible for the mentor to
better understand not only the issues of the mentee’s project but also the individual himself, his
motivations, values, character, allowing it to better adapt his questioning, advice and discussions
with him.
To these characteristics, we can add the age and experience level of the mentee in
entrepreneurship. For if we have so far spoken of novice-entrepreneurs in a broad sense, some
programmes accompany young, inexperienced novices, or buyers who have already had one or
more careers. If in any case, the lack of entrepreneurial experience appears similar, it should be
emphasised that the needs of these profiles are quite different. This indicates a need for a variety
of suitable mentors, with different experiences, background and styles of mentoring.
3- Dyad’s interpersonal and professional !t.
The relationship is based on duration, trust and self-disclosure, compatibility in human terms is
essential. In addition, for the relationship to be effective - the experience is beneficial to both
mentor and mentee - there must be professional compatibility: a differential experience in
entrepreneurship in the same sector - while avoiding the potential risks of competition - or in
different sectors - promoting the overall project rather than the business of the mentee.
!

Insofar as the mentoring relationship is first and foremost an interpersonal relationship, it involves
some elements widely described in terms of human relations. The human factor is ambivalent and
it is often described as an inexplicable feeling, personal chemistry or personal fit. The crucial need
for frequent and regular face-to-face meetings increases even more the importance of the human
factor and a positive feeling. But the mentoring relationship also requires an element of efficiency.
The mentoring relationship has a clear goal: to help an entrepreneur to develop its role and
expand his business. So that the relationship is seen as
effective and useful, there must be compatibility between the
mentee’s needs and the mentor’s style, knowledge and
experience. The mentor must also perceive the potential
mentee to decide whether his contribution as a mentor is
worth it. Conversely, the mentee needs to anticipate if the
mentor’s qualifications and experience will be beneficial to
him.
4- An appropriate style of mentoring
Interpersonal skills are very important for a mentor. Indeed, the most beneficial mentoring style for
the development of the mentee is a Socratic style. The Socratic method is a method of questioning
that aims to "give birth to spirit" and that is allowing the mentee to become aware of embedded
knowledge and the emergence of solutions that are unique and not induced by the mentor. This
approach is well away from the directive style.
In addition we found during our latest research and a review of best practices that four functions of
entrepreneurial mentor were related to positive outcomes. These functions are challenging,
guiding, informing and motivating.
The mentor must challenge the ideas of the mentee to allow him to go further in his thinking. This
confrontation takes place in the context of solving a problem of his entrepreneurial life: fundraising,
a decision about strategic direction, management or team building, the choice of partners, etc.
In his function as a guide and always in the context of solving a problem, the mentor shares his
suggestions and advice with the mentee. These suggestions are submitted for consideration by the
mentee entrepreneur who must remain autonomous in his decision making.
The mentor can also provide information to the mentee, within the limits of what he knows
personally, to accelerate the process that sometimes takes time for a novice working by trial and
!
A mentoring relationship
success depends on the
human and professional
!t between mentor and
mentee.

error. The mentor can share information he has already acquired in his own entrepreneurial path
such as how to negotiate a shareholders' agreement, an appeal to the Labour Court, the
formalities for export, a conflict with a customer, etc.
The mentor can also encourage and assist the mentee to build self-confidence and self-efficacy,
(feeling "capable" in accomplishing specific tasks). He encourages him to continue and not get
discouraged.
These four functions largely meet the needs of a mentee entrepreneur. Indeed, a novice has
inherently limited information due to lack of experience, and it can be difficult to step back vis-à-vis
the many critical events a startup may face. In addition, he may get discouraged when adverse
events (unrealized sales or fundraising that fails) or when deadlines to achieve objectives are
missed.
What should an organisation initiating a mentoring
programme implement?
To promote the three key factors of a successful mentoring relationship, the organization initiating
the program can implement three key actions summarized in the figure below:
!

1- Creation of a network of entrepreneurs
The creation of a friendly, dynamic and professional network allows:
✓ The attraction mentors with altruistic and personal
development values;
✓ Regular exchanges between mentors to share best
practices, promote emulation of these good practices,
ethical mentor behaviours and support of their
development as a mentor;
✓ The attraction of mentees entrepreneurs engaged in a process of personal and professional
development to support their business;
✓ Regular exchanges between mentees to help them manage their mentoring relationship
and create a group dynamic hence reducing the entrepreneur’s feeling of isolation.
2- Preparing participants for the mentoring relationship
Participants in a mentoring program can be prepared for the entrepreneurial mentoring relationship
so that:
✓ They understand the framework, roles and responsibilities;
✓ They deﬁne the objectives and structure of the relationship (frequency and duration);
✓ They are aware of the procedures of "amicable divorce";
✓ They can develop interpersonal skills (receiving feedback, listening, translation, etc.).
✓ The mentors can develop a Socratic style, learn the coaching tools, own a mentor posture,
manage dysfunctions, and use techniques to carry out the most effective functions
(challenging, guiding, informing and motivating).
3- Coordination of the matching process
The organisation implementing a mentoring program is responsible for matching the mentoring
pairs. The most effective practice is to organise a preliminary meeting between the mentor and
potential mentee without commitment. This promotes mutual discovery to boost conﬁdence. This
!
The organisation
initiating a mentoring
program must primarily
create a network of
entrepreneurs ...

meeting also promotes the discovery of professional compatibility and therefore the usefulness of
the relationship. Personal and professional compatibility stimulates participants to engage in the
relationship as it gives them the first signs of a future mutually beneficial relationship: a person with
whom I feel comfortable to share, and who will be useful to me or for whom I’ll feel useful.
The organisation may also accompany the start of the relationship, by formalising it through the
signing of a code of ethics and an act of commitment. It must, however, inform the participants of
the procedure for the withdrawal from the relationship and ensure a safe withdrawal (without
negative consequences for both parties).
4- Supporting actions
Amongst the actions that an organisation can set up, three can be used to support
mentoring relationships in order to ensure their effectiveness in the long term:
➡ Monitoring: regular check up with mentors and mentees (without going into the
intimacy of the relationship) can identify potential failures and restart the
relationship if it loses momentum.
➡ Assessment: It is important to assess whether the relationship is good (it works on
the human level), efficient (objectives are achieved) and beneficial (reciprocal
learning). This evaluation of the proximal impact (short-term, at the end of the
relationship) can improve the support process (selection and matching pairs).
Moreover a longer term evaluation can help the organisation to show results for the
mentored entrepreneurs and their companies (development of sales, staffing,
survival rate, etc.).
➡ Recognition of mentors: it highlight the mentors’ contribution which can meet their
need for recognition as well as increase their loyalty to the network of mentors and
reinforces the best practices and values of mentoring.
!

So what now?
Mentoring may well be supported by volunteer mentors, but
design and deployment of support program require good
preparation, communication, and some resources to carry it
out so that it can be beneﬁcial for novice entrepreneurs as
well as for mentors. Of course, we can assist you in the
design of such a program, but we are also interested in your
experience so do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact us:
Stéphanie MITRANO
smitrano@merkapt.com
twitter : @SMMerkapt
web : www.merkapt.com
!

White paper on entrepreneurial mentoring

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White paper on entrepreneurial mentoring