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Recommend a Startup Mentor

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  • 21-05-2014 11:38am
    #1
    Buttercake
    Registered Users Posts: 539 ✭✭✭


    Hi, can anyone recommend a mentor/Consultant who has worked with technology startups?


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    #2
    Peterdalkey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭Peterdalkey


    www.mentors.ie or http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Management/Leadership-and-Management-Development/Mentor-Grant.shortcut.html#Overview ?


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    #3
    mneylon
    Registered Users Posts: 7,739 ✭✭✭mneylon


    Does the mentor need to be technology focussed?
    What role / purpose will the mentor serve?

    Some of the best advice we ever got was completely tech agnostic :)

    Blog | Tweets



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    #4
    pedronomix
    Closed Accounts Posts: 997 ✭✭✭pedronomix


    In my experience, most tech start-ups talking about mentors are actually looking for someone with good connections for raising seed/VC funds!!


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    #5
    mneylon
    Registered Users Posts: 7,739 ✭✭✭mneylon


    pedronomix wrote: »
    In my experience, most tech start-ups talking about mentors are actually looking for someone with good connections for raising seed/VC funds!!

    Very true - and that's probably not what a mentor should be doing :) (Well they obviously can.. )

    Blog | Tweets



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    #6
    Buttercake
    Registered Users Posts: 539 ✭✭✭Buttercake


    pedronomix wrote: »
    In my experience, most tech start-ups talking about mentors are actually looking for someone with good connections for raising seed/VC funds!!

    That would be a bonus! and if you are paying someone €140 an hour they should have connections..But it's not essential and not the reason I'm asking

    I'm currently working with a private mentor/consultant and discovering that tech is not his strong point, it seems to be pub talk with him and we are at critical stages of development, so tech is important. Ie we are involved in software and looking for a tech mentor to discuss best route to market etc etc and those things that a mentor or consultant gets paid to do for their clients.


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    #7
    AndyJB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 177 ✭✭AndyJB


    Buttercake wrote: »
    That would be a bonus! and if you are paying someone €140 an hour they should have connections..But it's not essential and not the reason I'm asking

    I'm currently working with a private mentor/consultant and discovering that tech is not his strong point, it seems to be pub talk with him and we are at critical stages of development, so tech is important. Ie we are involved in software and looking for a tech mentor to discuss best route to market etc etc and those things that a mentor or consultant gets paid to do for their clients.

    Ways to market are many and varied!

    Is software ready to go or is it in beta? Is it an app or a larger system? Is it sector specific or generic? Is it unique or doing something better than the competitions offering? Have you any live users or test sites?

    As a techie with business experience, I've found the best people to sell a product are the people that build it and believe in it.

    Best of luck
    AJB


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    #8
    deegs
    Registered Users Posts: 1,268 ✭✭✭deegs


    Buttercake wrote: »
    That would be a bonus! and if you are paying someone €140 an hour they should have connections..But it's not essential and not the reason I'm asking

    I'm currently working with a private mentor/consultant and discovering that tech is not his strong point, it seems to be pub talk with him and we are at critical stages of development, so tech is important. Ie we are involved in software and looking for a tech mentor to discuss best route to market etc etc and those things that a mentor or consultant gets paid to do for their clients.

    Some people just get it.
    I do some work as ux consultant at a startup incubation. It's my full time job (pay ain't the best) but I love the vibrancy of working with new talented people so I try to help out 3 or 4 projects a year. I also see people as you describe, going through the motions but dreaming of golf at the weekend....
    Find a new mentor ;)


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    #9
    Buttercake
    Registered Users Posts: 539 ✭✭✭Buttercake


    AndyJB wrote: »
    Ways to market are many and varied!

    Is software ready to go or is it in beta? Is it an app or a larger system? Is it sector specific or generic? Is it unique or doing something better than the competitions offering? Have you any live users or test sites?

    As a techie with business experience, I've found the best people to sell a product are the people that build it and believe in it.

    Best of luck
    AJB

    Thanks :)

    Beta
    Webapp
    Number of sectors based

    Ways to market not in the conventional sense, more how to package the product.

    As an example, we originally built the product as a wordpress plugin and now it's got too big(number of features) so we want to release it as a saas product or do we release it as a plugin for wp and component for joomla or a a zip file to developers or with subscriptions or free trail, free versions and so on. I'm not expecting answers to these q's on here but this is the type of stuff where a mentor should be able to guide.. Along with advice on branding, launch etc etc Also the myriad of legal/IP to do a lot of "seasoned" mentors/consultants will not have a clue what I'm talking about, other areas are their strong point and that's fair enough. I'm not looking for Elon Musk, just someone in the consultancy biz with an understanding of tech.
    If anyone knows anyone, send them my way (paid work)


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