Mentors

2024 Timeline

• Cohort #1 (Puerto Rico) has been selected by our partners at CDVCAs’ Unlock Capital program. Conference Calls and Document Review will happen in April and May. Please let us know if you would live to be on a call with one of those entrepreneurs by following this link.
• Cohort #2 (Mainland USA) is currently being recruited by the MCN and our partners at the CDVCAs’ Unlock Capital Program. Conference Calls and Document Review will happen in May and June. If you know any companies we should be supporting, encourage them to apply by April 15th at https://www.unlockcapital.org/.
• Cohort #3 (Outside of the USA) is currently being recruited by the MCN and several of our global partners. Conference Calls and Document Review will happen in the fall. If you know any companies we should be supporting, encourage them to apply by September 15th by following the instructions at https://mentorcapitalnet.org/home/entrepreneurs/. 

Who We Are

Most of our mentors have created, managed, invested in, or studied multiple-bottom-line companies. Some are subject matter experts. Most are entrepreneurs themselves. You can see a sample of mentors who have worked with us recently here.

All of our mentors start as reviewers. We do this for two reasons:

• This allows us to engage 12-15 individuals with a company to find the 2 or 3 who would be the best fit as mentors in a way that adds value at each step of the process.
• This allows the mentor and the entrepreneur choose each other on the basis of finding value in what they had to say to each other. Every aspect of our program is designed to create mentoring relationships that are interesting, engaging and valuable for everyone involved.

What We Do

The MCN builds a team of 12-15 reviewers for each company, who are chosen for diversity of perspective and expertise with a focus on individuals who are addressing the same challenges but not competing for the same customers.
More on how our reviewers and mentors are recruited and assigned to companies here.

1. Business Plan Review
   Reviewers have a month to provide constructive commentary on the business plans, which takes 2-3 hours per plan. All of this is done remotely, on the reviewer’s schedule.
2. Clarification Calls
   We will schedule two calls for each entrepreneur. You only need to attend one. These calls give you a chance to ask questions to the entrepreneur directly, and to give all of the mentors and entrepreneurs a chance to meet each other.
3. Mentor-Matching (Dual Opt-In)
   The review form gives you the choice to offer more support, to answer specific questions, or to remain anonymous. If you offer more support, the entrepreneur will be provided with your name, email, and public bio (LinkedIn, or whatever you provide to us.) It is up to the entrepreneur to follow up with you. If the reviewer offers to continue to work with the entrepreneur, and the entrepreneur accepts, the reviewer becomes a mentor.

Why We Do It

Our mentors have a front row-seat with world-changing social entrepreneurs, helping them to launch and scale their ideas. Our alumni have gone on to collectively earn or raise more than 2 Billion USD. They are addressing some of the hardest challenges in the world, such as:

• Increasing the amount of healthy food and healthy farmers in our world, like Ignitia, & Elevated Honey,
• Bringing healthy food and drink to your table, like Kuli Kuli, Back to the Roots, Runa, & The Jackfruit Company.
• Providing access to financial services, like Tala, First Access, & Kopo Kopo.
• Improving the quality of, and access to, health care, like Access Afya, PACE MD, Sproxil, Maternova, & AYZH.
• Creating safer living and working conditions for women, like Wello Water & Pinkcollar. 
• Generating affordable, clean, and renewable energy, like Husk Power Systems, ARED, & Gham Power.
• Cleaning the water, air, and/or environment for those who need it most, like Folia Materials, Chakr Innovation, and Sanivation.
• Creating a path out of poverty for employees, like Wash Cycle Laundry,
• Training and educating people to make their way in the world, like GogyUp 
• Designing sustainable products, like WholeForest, & Yellow Leaf Hammocks.

Connections to potential mentees where you choose each other. All you commit to is reading and reviewing 2 or 3 business plans during the review period. If *you* decide you’d like to continue to engage with the company, you make that offer. If they decide that your advice was valuable to them, they will reach out to you. You can remain anonymous to the entrepreneurs if you wish.

Ongoing opportunities to connect with leaders who are addressing the same challenges that you are. Not only do you connect to the entrepreneurs, but there are numerous opportunities to connect with other members of our global mentor community as well.