startup-mentoring
(28)
Aaron Kennedy and the Value of a Bad Review
A noodle shop gave Aaron Kennedy an idea. A bruising start taught the Noodles & Company founder how to make it work - and when to let other people take it further.
Marc Randolph and the idea that survived the mail
Before Netflix became a streaming habit, Marc Randolph put a disc in an envelope. His story turns on the less glamorous work that followed: changing the business, sharing control, and learning which part of the job he wanted to keep.
Mun Yew Wong and the Other Side of the Table
Before founding Imagene Labs, Mun Yew Wong spent years assessing other people’s companies. His career between Singapore, Silicon Valley and China offers a closer look at what changes when an investor becomes a founder.
Edwin Tay and the business of choosing a future
A niece’s confusing university search set Edwin Tay on a new course. The EasyUni co-founder’s story runs through rented laptops, a printed guidebook and the practical work of helping people decide what comes next.
Marcus Tan and the art of opening doors
After nearly 15 years leading Healthengine, Marcus Tan handed over the keys. His next chapter is about helping other founders, leaders and givers find their way in.
Rami Katz and the business of helping people begin
He came to Rochester for an MBA and stayed to help build young companies. Now Excell’s CEO, Rami Katz brings a lawyer’s discipline to early-stage investing - and keeps making time for the next generation.
Aaron Walls and the trouble with leaving things unattended
A hot Atlanta apartment helped send Aaron Walls into brewing hardware. After crowdfunding, Shark Tank and years of helping other founders, the Boulder entrepreneur is working on another unruly system: AI agents.
Victor Dong and the education of a venture builder
At MIT Sloan, Victor Dong helped turn a cohort of classmates into a venture network. His work with TwentySix Ventures, C10 Labs, and ClarityNorth Partners follows a practical question: how does a promising idea become a working business?
Matt Downs and the distance between talent and opportunity
The Sandbox Industries co-CEO has spent two decades connecting capital with companies. His work with students around the world asks a more personal question: who gets a chance to join in?
Jeff White and the art of leaving room for the team
A former varsity basketball captain became a finance executive, then an early-stage investor. At NBIF, Jeff White is learning how to help New Brunswick companies grow without making himself the centre of every play.
Chris Burry and the distance between an idea and a company
From Avanade’s founding team to startup classrooms across borders, Chris Burry has spent his career working on a stubborn problem: helping capable people become capable founders.
Hanhai Investment sells a desk. The real offer is an introduction.
Behind Hanhai’s Bay Area offices is a practical proposition: give technical founders somewhere to work, then help them find the people who can move their business across an ocean.
TechQuartier puts startups within testing distance of banks
Frankfurt has plenty of financial institutions. TechQuartier supplies the introductions, programs and testing environments that help young technology companies get beyond a promising meeting.
Nextstars built a factory for founders without an idea
In Paris, Nextstars paired small seed cheques with a more unusual offer: a business idea in search of its entrepreneur. Its two-door model made customer testing the bridge between an interesting concept and an investable company.
Angel Investor Club: the waiting list that built another club
A Brazilian investor network discovered that many people waiting to join were startup founders. The answer became a second club - and, in 2025, a deal that brought the two communities together.
Condor Connect puts startups on the supermarket floor
A Curitiba accelerator turns a supermarket group into a testing ground for young companies. Its most useful offer may be the chance to win a paying customer.
I3P: Where clever inventions learn to earn their keep
A prototype can impress a professor and still leave a customer cold. Turin’s university incubator works in the awkward space between the two, connecting technical founders with the people, tests and capital a business needs.
FOUNDERS LEAGUE turns three minutes into a warmer introduction
A German pitch show puts founders in front of people who can help. Its more interesting business begins when the applause stops.
La Carica delle 101 gives startups a fresh pair of eyes
Two hours, a team of experienced women, and no invoice. The Milan nonprofit turns professional networks into focused mentoring for founders who need a different view of their business.
Angels4Women puts women on both sides of the cheque
In Milan, a network of business angels backs women-led startups and teaches investors how to judge them. The interesting part is the machinery between a promising introduction and an actual investment.
Campinas Had the Science. This Nonprofit Built the Switchboard.
Campinas already had universities, laboratories and ambitious founders. Associação Campinas Tech’s wager was that the missing technology was social: a reliable way for all of them to find one another.
French Tech Méditerranée: €100 and a Better Address Book
In Gard and Hérault, an entrepreneur-run association turns national startup programs into local introductions. Its real test is what happens after the handshake.
TiE Rajasthan brings the investor meeting to Jaipur
At SmashUp, founders get a shot at the people who write the cheques. Behind the event is a nonprofit network teaching entrepreneurs how to make that meeting count.
InsurTech Hub Munich Is in the Business of Opening Doors
A Munich nonprofit puts insurance giants and technology startups in the same room, then helps them find a reason to work together. Its next test is getting AI out of the demonstration and into the working day.
GUIITAR Council gives startup ideas a place to get their hands dirty
At GSFC University in Vadodara, GUIITAR Council connects founders with laboratories, mentors and public funding routes. Its incubatees are tackling solar-panel cleaning, hydrogen combustion and even banana-stem fibres.
H7’s €295 ticket into Lyon’s startup world
In a former boiler works, H7 bundles a workspace, startup coaching and introductions for €295 a month per desk, excluding tax. Behind that offer sits a business balancing founders, corporate partners and a very large room for events.
Entrepreneur Futures Network gets founders ready for the hard questions
Before the pitch comes the practice. The Berkeley-born nonprofit turns volunteer expertise into structured help for student startups, clean-energy innovators and the organizations backing them.
Asaf Amit Learned to Make Empty Rooms Tell Better Stories
The Apply Design co-founder turned experience in 3D, VR and computer vision into a practical lesson: people do not buy square footage alone. They buy the life they can picture inside it.