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Finding a mentor

6 points by hacker_24 ↗ HN
for the past several weeks (as I was approaching my summer vacation) I've been looking for a mentor.

Besides putting an ad in my newspaper, asking my friends, and even visiting an old folks home I have been unable to find a mentor and don't know what else to do.

I've been looking for a mentor who has experience just sort of with experience growing a technology company. I'm 18 and would love some direction towards my ideas, thoughts, and personal development. Besides my thirst to grow startups, I already do website design/development consultation on the side, I have developed a microapp for launch soon, and I was even class president for my graduating year this year. I know I have what it takes.

the issue with finding a mentor is just, its hard finding someone with experience in the game and who won't, essentially, steal your ideas. I also feel a lot of the candidates might not be in the loop either.

I'd even be willing to offer a cut based on my success, I have what it takes. Its just a little direction doesn't hurt. I have no one in my family with experience in the tech scene and stuff. Where else can I look guys?

4 comments

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flignats
Hi,

Are you in the SF Bay area? If so, get in touch with me and I'll pass along an opportunity.

hacker_24
Sadly, i'm not. I live in toronto, ontario, canada. I really appreciate it though. I wouldn't mind email correspondence... I'm not sure how a potential mentor would feel though.
flignats
Aah, bummer - the opportunities I have are local. Send me an email anyway and you can evaluate it for yourself :)
kshcho
While "cold calls" with strangers sometimes do work out, I've found one way to form productive mentoring relationships is to start with people you have some connection to - that could include teachers (e.g., if there is one, the comp sci teacher at your high school), people from your high school who went down the entrepreneurship track, etc. Even if you didn't know them, it's much easier to build on some common ground / experience than start from scratch - they'll also be more likely to respond to any call or emails you drop them. You might not find the perfect person / people at first, but it's a start and having at least someone who's somewhat on the same page as you to bounce ideas off and get advice from is better than nothing.

I don't know what resources you have to "discover" these people (as an example, you could search for your high school with some technology-oriented key words on LinkedIn), but you can get creative on that.

Hopefully, as both your network and your needs develop, you can "level up" to the people who can actually provide the support you need.