Making the most out of your mentors

MAKING THE MOST

BY ANDY SHANNONHEAD OF STARTUPBOOTCAMP GLOBAL

OUT OF YOUR MENTORS

Hi, I’m Andy

@atshannon1You can tweet me questions

Background○ Startups○ MBA○ Investing○ Accelerators

Startupbootcamp○ Head of Global

■ Programs■ Expansion■ Global

About me That's me!

My wife, Tara

You'll meet tons of mentors during the program...

You'll meet tons of mentors during the program...

What do you want to achieve from

mentor sessions?

How I RANK mentor usefulness


5. Opinionsa. Only one datapoint, deeper in industry = mind closed


1. Trusted advisorsa. A startup’s TRUE secret sauce


1. Trusted advisorsa. A startup’s TRUE secret sauce

2. Connectionsa. Intros to investors, partners, users, press, etc

3. Fundsa. Buys time to discover a sustainable business model

4. Case studiesa. Relatable, memorable, but never fully applicable

5. Opinionsa. Only one datapoint, deeper in industry = mind closed

You prepare for interviews

You prepare for interviews

Do you prep for mentorship?

(most don’t)

Most of us prep for interviews

1) What topics are difficult for you?2) How should the conversation flow?3) Who is your perfect mentor?

What topics are difficult for you?

You WILL run into tough topics

Why is your team so young?Isn’t your IP about to expire?You’ve been doing this 3 years?Doesn’t this market seem small?You don’t have a tech founder?

SO PRACTICE THEM!!!

How should the conversation flow?

(who’s leading your conversation?)

Your optimal conversation flow?

PRACTICE‘POLITICAL PIVOTS’

(steer your story like Bill)

Identify your optimal mentorWho is your perfect mentor?

“View every situation with a beginners mind”

Identify your perfect mentor

(not a last page of book mentor)

Trusted advisorDifficult topics?Political pivotsBeginners mind

Quick recap

“A beginners mind hasmany possibilities...

Shunru SuzukiBuddhist Zen Monk

… but an expert’s mind has few”

“A beginners mind hasmany possibilities...

Shunru SuzukiBuddhist Zen Monk

They…

Are ‘always’ rightThink you will dieWon’t ‘friend’ you

(some) Mentors can be difficult

They…



Mentors make suggestions

"You'd be silly <not> to do <this>"


"You should focus on <sales, BD, etc>”


"You need an <inhouse/outsourced>

dev team

“YOU NEED AN OUTSOURCED DEV TEAM!”

What can you do with this type of mentor?

Turn opinions into case studies


WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT

<TOPIC>?


HOW WOULD YOU THINK ABOUT THIS

DECISION?


WHAT WOULD YOU WORRY ABOUT MOST IF YOU INVESTED?

Aggregate feedback

1. ASK SAME QUESTION2. WRITE ANSWER3. COMPARE REPLIES

Aggregate feedback

Mentor whiplash is real!(Don’t take single data points)

Aggregate feedback (expanded)

1) Listen (with discounts)2) Aggregate in a single sheet3) Debate with your team4) Get real customer feedback5) Leader follows their gut

Every suggestion = customer service

*Best Practice

1) Acknowledge2) Thank3) Clarify4) Digest5) Respond with action

There’s no template for success

(scoring from midfield often?)

There’s no template for success

*Best Practice

UNDERSTAND WHY THE ADVICE WORKED IN 1 SITUATION

Sam Gerstenzang(A16Z)

They…



"THAT’S BEEN DONE BEFORE"

(Frequent mentor feedback)

"GOOGLE WILL KILL YOU"

(Frequent mentor feedback)

“GOOGLE WILL KILL YOU”

Arrows make you uncomfortable?

Colin Farrell (He’s deep…)

“Every feeling of discomfort is

a moment to be decoded”

"All progress takes place outside your

comfort zone.”

Seth Godin

ComfortZone

You

What to do?

Seth Godin

“SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND,

THEN BE UNDERSTOOD”

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Rejection =

- Subjective- An Opinion- Chance to learn

Start with your non-verbal

a little tooopen…?

Start with your non-verbal

1) Lean in2) Open posture3) Customer Service

Go DEEP into core concern

1) Why?2) Why?3) Why?4) Why?5) Why?

?

- Are ‘always’ right- Case Study- Customer Service- No Template

- Think you will die- Discomfort = Learn- Nonverbal- Go Deep


Half way point!

@atshannon1(Andy to check questions)

They…



What’s the point of all this?

What’s the point of all this?

To raise your chance of

CONNECTING with someone

Raise your chance of connecting?

“Teach your Hustle Muscle”

- Jamie Foxx

(here’s a few ways to do so...)

KNOW thy mentor

KNOW thy mentor

Put time into researching

mentors

KNOW thy mentor

Research a personal touch

Prime them

● V1.0 (basic)○ Tweet them○ Linkedin connect them○ Blog about them○ Comment on their blog○ Mail them a letter

● V2.0 (What Kim does)○ Unsolicited recommendations○ They look forward to meeting her

Know your STRUGGLES

(Your biggest roadblocks?)

Know your STRUGGLES

(Prepare Qs based on struggles)

Know your STRUGGLES

(Everything is great?)

(Difficulties = Fighting = Inspiring)

Know your STRUGGLES

(show dynamics + misinterpret)

Bring at least TWO

Assign a QUARTERBACK

Assign a QUARTERBACK

Don’t hog the ball!(Impress with the team)

Take notes BY HAND

Is Obama listening to you?

Obama’s on Twitter!!!

This is Obama engaging

(Obama remembers with paper)

This is Obama being open (body + mind)

(90% nonverbal)

You don’t know?

House doesn’t know

You don’t know?

Ken doesn’t know

You don’t know?

How will you learn FAST?

Only way to learn = start with ‘I don’t know’

Follow up

AN EASY LAYUP!!!

(Mistake: too late, not personal)

Keep in touch

it’s a lot harder

(updates/newsletter over time)

Know thy mentorPrime themKnow your strugglesBring at least twoTake notes by handCustomer discoveryYou don't knowKnow your numbersAssign a quarterbackAggregate feedbackFollow up

In Summary (remember a few?)

They…



They still won’t friend you?

- Honesty- Struggles (help)- Empathy (favor)


Today’s top takeaway


SUCCESS IS ABOUT BEING

PROACTIVE


HAVE A GOAL.DIE TRYING.

Karl Marx


I’ll leave you with a fewquotes...

Karl Marx

Consensus is the DEATH of startups

Committee approves decisions =

… compromise… average… innovation dies

Conviction > Consensus

“Measure only if it helps make

informed actions” - Seth Godin

Experts are today

Stand Out

“If success was based on past indicators...

LIBRARIANS WOULD BE RICH

- Warren Buffett

(Disrupt those who can’t look into the future)

Experts are today

“It's the calls you MAKE, not the calls you take”

- Kathryn Gould (first woman VC)

(Insanely busy ‘responder’?)

http://steveblank.com/2014/08/05/pioneering-women-in-venture-capital-kathryn-gould/

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Questions?Suggestions?

@atshannon1(Tweet to remind me about deck)

Business

Making the most out of your mentors