The traits of a business mentor

In his book on Startup Communities, Brad Feld defines mentors as ‘experienced entrepreneurs or investors who actively contribute time, energy and wisdom to startups.’ While an advisor has an economic relationship with the entrepreneur, the mentor is one who gives before he gets, and has no clear outcome goals or economic rewards.

From time-to-time, AGA invites experienced businessmen and matured startup founders as pro-bono mentors for our startups. This question is often asked, “So what are the traits of a mentor that an entrepreneur should seek out?”

I do not have a specific book on this, but instead I did a personal reflection over my previous fifteen years as an entrepreneur. I realised I had many successful business mentors who came by me in different seasons of my life and helped me grow in maturity. And through a few of these examples, I hope to exemplify their traits.

1. The visionary

We often read about many business personalities and their visions for inspiration. But it is nothing compared to having a personal one to inspire you.

Uncle Beng is an old family friend who has seen me grow up since young. He runs a public-listed agriculture-related company on the SGX with a list of successful achievements to date. What struck me was his ability to create a vision of expanding his company to capture many markets at a quick pace. He saw a great need for his products but the markets were fragmented and unique in different business styles.

He will meticulously share his vision with his people and tailor different strategies for various markets. When it comes to opening a new market, he never fails to be the first man to be there in the action and creating a quick SOP to grow the market with speed. His strength is combined with his ability to train a team of loyalists out from Singapore and sends them out to head and operate the new markets. His lean and mean expansion strategy was also one which did not pressure the company’s finances.

From his sharing, I have learned that your vision is as big as you want it to be and you are always able to conquer it.

2. The encourager and supporter

Do you feel many at times when you are down and out, especially on the roller-coaster ride of entrepreneurship? That is normal and we always need someone to listen and rebuild your confidence up.

Uncle Paul was a best buddy’s father. For a period of time, I travelled regularly to KL for my eCommerce expansion into Malaysia. Uncle Paul and my buddy lived in Singapore on weekends but travelled on weekdays to work in KL, so I regularly hitched a ride with them. And while my buddy was snoring at the back of the car, I had a great time speaking with Uncle Paul.

In 2004, eCommerce was still relatively nascent and very challenging in the Malaysian market. There were so many times I was down and wanted to give up, complaining that there were too many barriers to create something successful. Uncle Paul shared with me his life experiences of how he started a humble PC shop and through many obstacles, he overcame them and built his IT business, which he listed on the KLSE.

He believed in me and encouraged me to see beyond the problems. He did not give the specific solutions, but he instilled confidence through his regular encouragement that I actually have the answers, just that I need to go and execute them.

Uncle Paul was a mentor who did not want to impose his ideals and methods on me, but rather trained and guided me to solve things on my own. That encouraged me to grow to resolve issues on my own rather than always running to someone for help.

3. The executioner

Entrepreneurs are generally in the Driven category of the DISC spectrum. Stereotypically, they are not the best people who can be systematic in what they do, because they are always out exploring new ideas and thrive on unstructured settings. But when it is time, entrepreneurs need some discipline to carry out the execution of the business.

4. The humble

5. The spiritual faith assured

Time to step up

Ending thoughts