Who is the most helpful 500 startups mentor to approach?
As I've read before - best way to get noticed by 500 startups is first get noticed by one of the mentors. Well, that's a good idea, but there are more then 100 mentors on the site, and it's hard to choose which one of them potentially might be interested in your start-up or will be willing to ever reply to you. Obviously spamming all of them is the worst idea ever. So, what is the best way to choose and politely approach to a right person without being annoying? Who are the most friendly guys you can recommend ?
7 Answers
re: "best" mentor / ways to connect, look for people who:
- have experience in the industry segment where you're building your product or business (ex: education, e-commerce, ad tech, etc)
- have experience in the skillsets / services where you are looking for help or guidance (ex: machine learning, visual design, PR / marketing, recruiting)
- are located in regional metro where you are operating / plan to be located (silicon valley, NYC, east asia)
- have contacts with people you know and/or have worked with (same school, same company, same professional association)
- have some involvement in your business already, or might get involved (advisor, investor, customer, etc)
once you've figured out a connection using any of criteria above, or at least the potential for connection, then start narrowing the list of folks and use other methods to get connected (linkedin, facebook, angel list, twitter, Quora, etc)
or, just fucking hustle.
- have experience in the industry segment where you're building your product or business (ex: education, e-commerce, ad tech, etc)
- have experience in the skillsets / services where you are looking for help or guidance (ex: machine learning, visual design, PR / marketing, recruiting)
- are located in regional metro where you are operating / plan to be located (silicon valley, NYC, east asia)
- have contacts with people you know and/or have worked with (same school, same company, same professional association)
- have some involvement in your business already, or might get involved (advisor, investor, customer, etc)
once you've figured out a connection using any of criteria above, or at least the potential for connection, then start narrowing the list of folks and use other methods to get connected (linkedin, facebook, angel list, twitter, Quora, etc)
or, just fucking hustle.
They're all helpful, that's why they were selected to be mentors. That being said, they're in-demand and busy.
The best way to approach a 500 Mentor (or any, actually) is to ask a specific question.
Bad question: "What do you think of my startup?"
Better question: "I tried X and got Y results. Since you're an expert at X, what do you think of those results?"
The best way to approach a 500 Mentor (or any, actually) is to ask a specific question.
Bad question: "What do you think of my startup?"
Better question: "I tried X and got Y results. Since you're an expert at X, what do you think of those results?"
1. Do some research
The 500startups is huge and it might take a lot of work to narrow down the list from a few hundreds to a dozen but I would argue this is the most effective way to get quality results.
By approaching the one you think are relevant, you accomplish 2 things:
- You are showing that you've actually put a lot of thought before approaching the mentor something they will likely appreciate a lot.
- You will yield better results since these mentors are more likely to care about your startup provided they are interested in your space. They will also have the best feedback for you.
2. Connect with the entrepreneurs
Another approach would be to connect with founders from the 500startups network who share the same space - to see the full list of the companies go to Startups page.
Once you connect with them you could ask them if they would be comfortable connecting you to the most helpful mentors.
3. Go to 500startups events, meetups and info sessions
500startups is one of the most active accelerator in that space. They are organizing tons of events such as the unSEXY conference, the warmgun conference, unofficial meetups and info sessions before a batch starts. I strongly encourage anyone to go at least to one of these events and start interfacing with the 500startups partners & mentors - that will put you on their radar. You can see more events on this page.
The 500startups is huge and it might take a lot of work to narrow down the list from a few hundreds to a dozen but I would argue this is the most effective way to get quality results.
By approaching the one you think are relevant, you accomplish 2 things:
- You are showing that you've actually put a lot of thought before approaching the mentor something they will likely appreciate a lot.
- You will yield better results since these mentors are more likely to care about your startup provided they are interested in your space. They will also have the best feedback for you.
2. Connect with the entrepreneurs
Another approach would be to connect with founders from the 500startups network who share the same space - to see the full list of the companies go to Startups page.
Once you connect with them you could ask them if they would be comfortable connecting you to the most helpful mentors.
3. Go to 500startups events, meetups and info sessions
500startups is one of the most active accelerator in that space. They are organizing tons of events such as the unSEXY conference, the warmgun conference, unofficial meetups and info sessions before a batch starts. I strongly encourage anyone to go at least to one of these events and start interfacing with the 500startups partners & mentors - that will put you on their radar. You can see more events on this page.
Build a relationship first.. ask for something second... find someone who you share (as mentioned above) a common interest with, common school, common friends etc.. this isn't hard.. start on LinkedIn or twitter... Or better yet, attend some local events for tech startups.. meet people face to face and form genuine relationships... help others with stuff, write for magazines (if you're so inclined) ... offer to volunteer at SU weekends.. you will meet a huge array of people who at some point in time will be able to help you make the connections you need.. think relationship first.. asking for shit second ...
When it all boils down, the team at 500 or any investor, advisor or potential customer is a person. A real live breathing and living human being.. with feelings and interests and a family and everything else that you yourself value... you shouldn't be looking for the "most helpful" mentor at 500.. you should be seeking to form real meaningful relationships with people who at some point may either provide mentorship or provide an avenue into introducing you to a suitable mentor.
I like this quote from an article I recently read :
When it all boils down, the team at 500 or any investor, advisor or potential customer is a person. A real live breathing and living human being.. with feelings and interests and a family and everything else that you yourself value... you shouldn't be looking for the "most helpful" mentor at 500.. you should be seeking to form real meaningful relationships with people who at some point may either provide mentorship or provide an avenue into introducing you to a suitable mentor.
I like this quote from an article I recently read :
- Mentors. Though a true mentor may be difficult to find, it’s not impossible. If you have one in mind, start by building the relationship—just like you would anyone else. Don’t lead with “Will you be my mentor?” (That’s like asking someone to marry you on the first date.) Instead, get to know them. Look for opportunities to be generous. Start small and see where it goes.
Full article here : How to Find a Mentor to Help You Go Further, Faster
Though I'm not super high up on the food chain, I'd be happy to try to connect startups I believe in and pass them along to various people higher up in 500. Feel free to reach out to me (you should be able to figure out how, that's the first test), and send me the following:
1-2 paragraphs each explaining the following questions in order:
- What is the pain point you're addressing?
- How are people currently addressing this pain point? Why is it inadequate?
- Who are the competitors to what you're trying to do? Why do they suck?
- What is your solution? How is it novel? Do you have a secret sauce? What is your superpower?
- How will you make money, specifically (the more specific, the better)
- What is your go-to-market plan? What is the market size?
- What is your traction? How will you acquire more users? (Be specific on what channels and if you've already tested some already)
- Where do you see this ending up?
Also, summarize each of the above into 1-2 sentences, combine together in order, and this might also be a rough draft for your 2 minute pitch.
You should be able to answer most all of these questions if you're serious about what you're doing. If you can string the above together in a coherent manner and it makes sense, I'd love to help in any way I can to help get you noticed! :)
1-2 paragraphs each explaining the following questions in order:
- What is the pain point you're addressing?
- How are people currently addressing this pain point? Why is it inadequate?
- Who are the competitors to what you're trying to do? Why do they suck?
- What is your solution? How is it novel? Do you have a secret sauce? What is your superpower?
- How will you make money, specifically (the more specific, the better)
- What is your go-to-market plan? What is the market size?
- What is your traction? How will you acquire more users? (Be specific on what channels and if you've already tested some already)
- Where do you see this ending up?
Also, summarize each of the above into 1-2 sentences, combine together in order, and this might also be a rough draft for your 2 minute pitch.
You should be able to answer most all of these questions if you're serious about what you're doing. If you can string the above together in a coherent manner and it makes sense, I'd love to help in any way I can to help get you noticed! :)
