Mentors Magazine: Issue 2

38 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

1:1 mentoring relationships are ideal - ideal-
ized and likely an outdated notion in an al-
ways on 24/7 world. But mentoring, that is,
the need for guidance and feedback from
someone with more ex-
perience, is still essen-
tial for our ca-
reers. So how do
we balance the
need for mentor-
ship and the abil-
ity to access men-
toring guidance?

Entrepreneur Misti Cain
challenged me on this very question, asking
me to rethink what 1:1 mentoring can be.
1:1 mentoring in the digital / mobile age can
mean subscribing to a blog or YouTube chan-
nel or newsletter or podcast or online
course. It can be as easy as following some-
one on Twitter. It’s more engagement than
the random “like” and less commitment
than a lifetime of scheduling coffee dates.

Misti’s “rethink” 1:1 mentoring is the right
approach. In the digital age of personal
brands, mentoring doesn’t have to be the
pursuit of a lifetime commitment to meet
IRL. Rather, it’s the quest for answers —
wherever you may find them.

And Misti’s approach to mentoring got me
thinking about my own “mentors”.

Investor Joanne Wilson (aka The Gotham

Gal) became my mentor around the summer

of 2011. We both had been invited to partic-

ipate as advisors at a roundtable pitch event

for female founders.

Three women were

pitching that night

(a tech founder,

handbag designer

and custom carpet

designer). It was

the first time I had

actively participat-

ed in such an event,

so I was observing my

peers around the table as much as I was lis-

tening to the pitches. As each founder pre-

sented, Joanne was direct in her question-

ing, forthright with her opinions and honest

(some would say rather blunt) with her reac-

tions to the product or business model (or

both).

In Joanne, I immediately found my guide and

role model on how to be helpful to entrepre-

neurs.

Since that evening, I’ve avidly read Joanne’s

blog, followed her on Twitter, attended WE

Festival, become a member of the WE Festi-

val community and been fortunate to inter-

view her on more than one occasion (36/86,

Apple Store, BroadMic). No, I’ve never asked

Joanne for a coffee date or to be my mentor,

nonetheless, she’s played that significant

1:1 mentoring in the digital /

mobile age can mean

subscribing to a blog or YouTube

channel or newsletter or

podcast or online course.