U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Launching Mentor Network for Startups

Brandon Howard

A kickoff event earlier this month for Venture Mentoring Services attracted more than a dozen potential mentors to the program. Venture Mentoring Services will match entrepreneurs with a carefully selected pool of mentors, including venture capitalists, serial entrepreneurs, business executives and finance experts.

Founders of young companies who are affiliated with the U of A (including students, alumni, faculty and staff) will soon have access to a network of experienced mentors through a new program designed to accelerate and support entrepreneurship across Northwest Arkansas. 

The Venture Mentoring Service program, overseen by the U of A's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, will match entrepreneurs with a carefully selected pool of mentors, including venture capitalists, serial entrepreneurs, business executives and finance experts.  

The mentors, all volunteers, will follow a methodology established 20 years ago at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and adapted for Northwest Arkansas's entrepreneurial community's unique assets and needs.  

Using a team-based approach, mentors will provide practical, actionable advice that develops the entrepreneur as well as their venture. The primary goal of the program is to support the entrepreneurs' development and success by their own definitions. Additional goals include strengthening opportunities for early-stage financing and the creation of jobs that retain entrepreneurs, engineers, software developers, and product managers in the region. 

A kickoff event earlier this month attracted more than a dozen potential mentors to the program. 

"We were so thrilled by the caliber of mentors who have expressed interest in participating in this program and are looking forward to the successful launch of the pilot," said Shaheen Lokhandwala, program manager of entrepreneurship initiatives, who will oversee the program.  

"The beauty of the VMS model is that it is scalable as the number of startups in the region grow. We believe mentors who find it a well-organized and rewarding experience will recruit additional mentors over time, and entrepreneurs who attribute some of their success to the program will also give back." 

The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation will spend the next few weeks matching mentors to ventures based on their advising needs and plans to begin the first mentor meetings in August. 

Interested startups and mentors can apply to the program through office's website. Ventures must be less than five years old and willing to be held accountable to commitments they agree to during their mentor meetings. The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation will assess the ventures' needs and compare it to a pool of available mentors. Then, a team of three to four mentors, including a lead mentor, will be assigned to the venture. OEI will organize and annotate meetings. 

Mentors may also express their interest in the program, along with their relevant professional experience, via the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation website. Entrepreneurial experience is not necessary, but mentors should bring extensive industry experience and not be seeking a business relationship with the entrepreneurs they mentor. Mentors should expect to dedicate three to six hours of their time per month, and will be invited to monthly mentors-only luncheons at the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub in Fayetteville or the U of A's new Bentonville location, the Collaborative.  

Dylan Trichell, owner of Faytown Designs, a customizable design and manufacturing firm located in the U of A Startup Village, sees the program as a boon for startups. 

"The idea that we have the opportunity to speak with local professionals that have been in the same exact place we are struggling through makes my whole team excited and relieved," Trichell said. 

"The truly amazing part of VMS is that it seems to be fluid and our mentor group will change as we grow. This ability to continue growing our mentor network allows us to seek insight from professionals as we migrate through phases and pain points associated with scaling," he said. 

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio and Startup Village, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.