Case Study: April Stephenson Founder - Simba Technologies

Name

Markus Ahlberg

Job title

Founder/CEO

Company

Feelmo

Why did you get involved..?

As part of the Generate Accelerator Programme I was assigned a mentor for the duration of the accelerator.

What was the name…?

I was part of the second cohort of the Generate Accelerator Programme (GAP)

What's your mentee experience?

I've had a mentor before, or at least something similar to this but every situation is different.

What impact has mentoring had on you, personally or professionally?

Having a mentor has been great for me, both personally and professionally. Leading a startup is, and this is probably and understatement, difficult and, at times, lonely. A good mentor can be an incredible asset that supports you through the ups and downs of the journey. They understand what you're going through and can be a helpful sounding board or there just to listen when you need to vent. The experience has helped me grow as a person as i've learned more about my own strengths and weaknesses and gotten a chance to work on both.

What advice would you give to another mentee?

Remember that your time with your mentor is your time. Your mentor has signed up to support you so to get the most out of the experience, make sure that you are intentional and prepared. Know what you want to get out of your time together and where you need support. If you feel like it's not working, that's fine! Talk about that with your mentor and work it out.

Email Taylor (T.L.W.Wong@lse.ac.uk) about the startup mentorship scheme and Alice (A.Eddie@lse.ac.uk) about the Schools Programme.

The ‘Mentorpreneurship’ programme is the first university-run initiative of its kind to engage past, current and future student entrepreneurs in a ‘life-cycle’ of mentoring. In partnership with OakNorth, founded by LSE alumni Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, the programme supports the development of socially conscious businesses and inspire entrepreneurial thinking, by offering a range of opportunities underpinned by mentoring activities.

The three core parts of the Mentorpreneurship programme are:

Startup Mentoring
Mentorship Certificate
Schools Programme

Check out more details here and join us as we break new ground in developing game-changing entrepreneurs.

Startup Mentoring

We invite experienced LSE alumni and startup operators to join LSE Generate as mentor and be part of a new way of learning, as we match mentors and mentees from all walks of life, across the globe, to share experiences that help foster innovation.

Remember when you were starting out on your entrepreneurial journey and you really wanted that trusted, 1:1 support? You hoped for someone, not a family member, a friend, or Professor, but a true specialist with lived experience to help guide your next move, support those big business decisions, and overcome challenges thrown your way. Now is the time for you to be that person for someone else.

We’re creating a movement; a movement of people who believe in positive change at a time when the world needs it the most. We’re still holding seminars, we are holding workshops, and we’ve got bucket-loads of ground-breaking talks, but we are doing them differently. We are interactive, we are participatory, we are iterative. We are Mentorpreneurial.

How does it work?

It’s simple;

Step 1: Sign up as a mentor here
Step 2: Be onboarded in the next mentor onboarding round (once a quarter)
Step 3: Get added to our mentor catalogue
Step 4: Get a mentee assigned from one of our flagship programme

Once you’ve begun you’re mentoring journey, we’ll keep in touch with you to see how you’re mentor / mentee relationship is developing. If all is rosie and well, keep on doing what you’re doing. If you’ve hit a bump in the road, we’re here to support you through it.

Expectations

A commitment to a minimum of five mentor / mentee engagements
Agreement to share feedback on your experience
Agreement to the LSE Generate EDI code of conduct

What’s in it for me?

In addition to your chance to contribute to an impact-driven startup’s development, to learn from your mentee, every mentor on our programme gets free access to our Mentorship Certificate.

Mentorship Certificate

As part of our Mentorpreneurship Programme, we joined forces with Dr Andrew Atter to create a Mentorship Certificate.

If you think you and your organisation might benefit from a mentorship course, reach out to us for more information. Contact LJ at l.j.silverman@lse.ac.uk.

Schools Programme

As part of the Mentorpreneurship programme, we have identified the need to support people early on. This is why we work together with a number of secondary schools in the UK creating entrepreneurship programmes for the younger audiences, to inspire them early on.

If you would like to learn more or join the programme, get in touch with Alice (A.Eddie@lse.ac.uk).

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Mentorship

Exploring entrepeneurship?

In partnership with OakNorth, we are supporting the development of socially conscious businesses and inspiring entrepreneurial thinking through mentorship.