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Become a Mentor

 Mentoring is a key part of the success of the Global Social Venture Competition. The goal of the mentoring program is to facilitate working relationship between entrants and venture capitalists, academics, or other professionals with relevant business or social venture expertise. In the past, mentors have assisted teams with writing the business plan, calculating social return on investment, and presenting ideas to potential investors. Best efforts are made to match teams with mentors whose industry experience and skills compliment those of the team and its business plan. In addition to working with aspiring social entrepreneurs, mentors also have the opportunity to network with other professionals involved in the competition, including other mentors and judges.

Entrants who pass the first round of executive summaries will be matched with an appropriate mentor. Mentors will work with teams that have advanced to the semi-finals between early February and mid-March, and until April 23rd, 2009 for those that advance to the finals. Mentors have committed their time to assisting applicants during this period. Additionally, mentors are encouraged to continue working with the team beyond the competition.

Specific Mentor Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Dedicate approximately 5-10 hours to working with the team in the development of an initial business plan, due in March.
  • Be considerate of the deadlines imposed on the entrants by the competition; they will be relying on your feedback to complete the business plan.
  • Review the final version of the business plan in its entirety with sufficient time to allow entrants to make appropriate changes before submission.
  • Attend the GSVC Mentor Mixer to meet with your team and other mentors, if possible.

Specific Entrant Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Give thoughtful consideration to all mentor suggestions and comments and proactively communicate when and why ideas or suggestions are not incorporated into the final business plan.
  • Show respect for the mentor's time by screening and prioritizing requests for information or feedback and accommodating their schedules as much as possible.
  • Attend the GSVC workshop / Mentor Mixer to meet your mentor and other participants, if possible.

If you interested in being considered as a potential GSVC Mentor, please call

Columbia at 212-854-3244 
Haas at 510-642-4255
London at 44 20 7723 8534

Or email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Mentor Resources