Warning: Scumbag Startup Mentors On The Loose!

For the scumbag mentors. You know who you are.

I love start-ups and the journey of building businesses. So I’m extremely frustrated when I hear stories from budding entrepreneurs who got conned by “mentors” who take equity just for giving their advice. Yeah, those who don’t really create value and just talk and talk and talk…

I know, there are great mentors who actually do deserve the equity. But recently, I’m hearing cases that there are several unnamed scumbag start-up “mentors” who’re on the loose, sneakily taking equity from budding entrepreneurs who know nothing about valuation and the importance of keeping equity in business. The entrepreneurs who shared their pain with me didn’t want me to mention names, so yeah… I will have to respect that.

Here’s the story in brief — there is a budding start-up that was gaining traction with a pretty neat business idea. Some “mentors” heard about it and wanted to take 10 percent  equity in exchange for their advice and with an investment of around one thousand dollars. Uh huh… so with that estimated figure, the start-up is valued at around $10,000? That valuation is ridiculous considering the amount of potential the start-up has (trust me on this).

The scumbag mentors, who certainly know that this is a damn good deal, just went ahead and signed the papers. The entrepreneurs didn’t feel too good about it but went on with the deal with fingers crossed.

These scumbag “mentors” were initially very active in helping. But the “mentoring” stopped after some time; eventually, they weren’t even replying to emails from the entrepreneurs. Classic!

And, from what I understand, none of the scumbags actually have experience in entrepreneurship or the industry the entrepreneurs are in.

Seriously, as mentors, shouldn’t you be warning the entrepreneurs about scumbag mentors (like yourself)? And why are they holding on to equity when they aren’t creating value?

They are obviously the black sheep of the ecosystem, taking away equity from naive entrepreneurs who know nothing about term sheets and are just working hard building their business.

So be extra careful, fellow entrepreneurs — This is the main message for this post.

Don’t buy into the bullshit of unknown mentors/gurus who want to take equity just by talking. Words can’t fill your stomach and sustain your business. Money can, though.

Real mentors are genuine people who really care about helping entrepreneurs to build their business. And they usually don’t take equity unless they are willing to run the business with you.

I would really like to reveal their names to warn other budding entrepreneurs away from them. Unfortunately I can’t as I have to protect the identity of the entrepreneurs who spoke with me. So stay safe and peace out!

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