30 December 2015 | Entrepreneurship heated up the fourth floor of Toong Coworking Space yesterday winter evening. The “Mentoring Orientation” workshop led by SME Mentoring Network and KisStartup (likely Hanoi Chapter of SME Mentoring Network) welcome tens of young entrepreneurs and startup founders as well as IPP Innovation Coaches who will be mentors.
A pitch session first started at 4PM. Eligible mentees, who commit full time to their startups, and mentors, who are invited by KisStartup and SME Mentoring Network, have 3 minutes to introduce themselves. The rule is just focusing on who you are not what your business is. About six mentees and seven mentors joined this session.
SME Mentoring Network and KisStartup focus on individual mentor-mentee relations. To this end, it is necessary to know: (i) who the mentee is and what type of mentor s/he is in need of as well as fit with; and (ii) who the mentor is, what type of mentees s/he wants to work with, and how mentee can work with mentor
This is a 12-month mentoring program. Qualified mentee has to pay VND1 million. Mentee and mentor have to commit to meet at least one hour per month. After each meeting, mentee is requested to post their feedback on meeting (what they learn, what they feel..) on the network website.
Graduated mentees are expected to be mentors.
The workshop on “Mentoring Orientation” started at 6PM. This was open and free. The ultimate purpose of the workshop is to build appropriate expectations of both mentors and mentees. Therefore, Phan Dinh Tuan Anh (SME Mentoring Network), who led the workshop, emphasized:
- Discussing about the differences between coach, consultant, and mentor.
- Building trust between mentor and mentee.
- Asking audience about what mentees want from mentors and what vice versa
The workshop closed with introduction about DISC (Dominace, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness) that helps mentors and mentees explore who they are and who they should work with. What SME Mentoring Network has experienced in the last four years is a successful mentoring relation largely depends on the match between mentor and mentee and how long they can work together.
Last but not least, workshop participants enjoyed finger-food, wine, and a lot of interesting startup stories, and.. challenges (of course).
Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Business Culture 
[…] The two women entrepreneurs returned to be paid banking professionals. They however could not stop thinking about their own business. Entrepreneurial spirit induced Thai Ha to keep attending startup events including the pitching session and, more critical, the mentorship orientation and matching by KisStartup. […]
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Interesting and useful note! Thanks so much for your sharing 🙂
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Topics to discuss with managers of mentoring programs:
* When should the mentor involve in solving the mentee’s a problem?
* How should the mentee benefit the mentor in long-term perspective (partnership, equity stake..)?
* How should the managers manage and facilitate the mentor-mentee relation?
* How can mentoring programs be sustainable?
* What should mentoring programs offer to both mentors and mentees?
* How should mentoring program develop relations with the other ecosystem players?
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Mentors focus on building mentee’s capability while coaches and consultants are problem-solving oriented.
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This is what Tigers@Mekong has introduced to mentors in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
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