Mentors

Become a

Bloom Mentor!

Mentoring brings us together – across generation, class, and often race – in a manner that forces us to acknowledge our interdependence, to appreciate, in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words, that ‘we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny.’ In this way, mentoring enables us to participate in the essential but unfinished drama of reinventing community, while reaffirming that there is an important role for each of us in it.

Marc Freedman

Whether you’ve had great success in your own field and became an expert along the way, or had a mentor of your own who helped you, mentoring is something you can do that makes a direct difference in someone else’s life and business.

Enhance your leadership skills, build networks, shape the people in your community and stay up-to-date on the latest innovations and trends in entrepreneurial ecosystems – all this while you do your share of giving back. 

Welcome to our mentor program, we’re glad you’re here!

All the Bloom mentor information you need in one place!

Click here to head directly to the Become a Mentor form!

What are the mentorship options?

There are two ways for you to get involved (you can choose both!):

1. Become a Key Mentor: As a Key Mentor, you’ll be the principal mentor for one of the businesses in our program. You’ll be matched with an enterprise based on your preference and the needs of the business. You will follow the company throughout the 16-week program, meeting at least bi-weekly, and offering support and guidance when needed.
2. Become a Topic Mentor: Topic Mentors translate their specific expertise (e.g. in marketing, or HR, or another core function) into a training session for the teams we’re supporting. The team may also ask you to provide one-on-one mentoring to companies that need support in your area of expertise. 

How much time are we talking about?

You can start contributing from as little as 2 hours a month. For a fulfilling experience (both for you and the enterprise) we recommend you schedule 2 hours a week, or more if you have the time and interest. 💪🏾💛

The benefits you get from mentoring!

• Renewed enthusiasm for the role of expert
• Obtaining a greater understanding of the barriers experienced in startups
• Enhancing skills in coaching, counseling, listening, and modeling
• Developing and practicing a more personal style of leadership
• Demonstrating expertise and sharing knowledge
• Increasing generational awareness

In detail: your responsibilities as a Bloom Key Mentor

• Join at least one sprint session to meet the enterprises.
• Participate at least once in the mentor speed dating, a rapid and intense session of 20-minute meetings with the entrepreneurs.
• Provide guidance to enterprises during the accelerator cycles (recommended one hour per week to check-in on progress, over 16 weeks).
• Participate in pitch feedback sessions and provide scoring during the sprint and accelerator demo day.
• Guide the enterprise with its financial budgeting and approve its budget.
• Sometimes provide advice and answers to the entrepreneurs, but more often ask good questions to help the entrepreneurs discover the answers that are within them, that they can resolve, and the decisions they need to make 
• Be willing to connect the enterprises with your networks when appropriate

What Bloom offers mentors

• Access to a wide network of experts, mentors, investors, partners, and more
• Ability to make an impact through the support provided for the teams
• Exposure to new ideas, challenges, and opportunities
• Exposure on Bloom website and social media channels
• Access to the Bloom newsletter and website opportunities section

The Mentor Pledge

I am aware of the following responsibilities and expectations and pledge my adherence to them:

1. I commit to making a substantial commitment during the program to:
   1. weekly one­-to-­one mentoring (lead mentoring).
   2. guide my mentee through the process of building and growing their business and give feedback and guidance on their grant disbursement (lead mentoring).
   3. attendance and participation in monthly group workshops and special events.

2. I commit to making a difference; to support, guide, and be a role model.

3. I commit to encouraging another; by listening, understanding, fostering strengths and showing empathy.

4. I commit to building a mutual relationship; to enter the world of someone else, hearing about new dreams and challenges, sharing my own stories, and respecting the differences between us.

5. I commit to remaining sympathetic; to the storms weathered, to the adversity faced, and to the experiences that occurred long before this entrepreneur entered my life.

6. I commit to realizing that my actions carry new weight and responsibility, that my role can never be taken lightly, that my life will also change with this experience.

7. I commit to being a mentor.

Meet our previous program mentors

Join our community of mentors

We’re always on the lookout for great experts who want to give back to the community and help young startups improve their ideas and bloom. If this resonates with you, fill out this form and we’ll get in touch soon.

Fill out the form below to register your interest
but make sure to read and agree to The Mentor Pledge first!