Startup Mentoring
Matched to Your Needs
Meet the Mentors Who Guide Your Startup to International Growth
At German Accelerator, our startup mentors will help you to validate your business model and adjust to new markets. Our global network of subject-matter experts offers startup coaching and mentoring across a wide range of skills and specialties. They’re all established serial entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders who’ve done it before – and want to help your startup achieve the same success.
Our business mentors love what they do and want to pass on their knowledge to the next generation of German entrepreneurs. We match you with experts based on your startup’s needs no matter your industry or market. Check out a selection of our startup mentor network below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Startup Mentoring with German Accelerator
How do I find the right business mentor for my startup?
Don’t worry: The German Accelerator program team assists you in finding the right startup mentors to guide your business through its international expansion journey. Our global network includes a plethora of business coaches and mentors from a wide variety of backgrounds, industries, fields, and qualifications.
We’ll help you find the perfect mentors for your startup. From there, your mentors will guide you on your journey to scale and grow your business as you understand, discover, and access new markets – all based on your individual needs.
What's it like to work with a startup mentor through German Accelerator?
Every good business mentorship requires a strong personal fit, so we work hard to personalize our startup-mentor matches.
Our global startup mentor network consists of experienced entrepreneurs, experts, and leaders in their respective fields and location. Your startup mentor evaluates what your company needs in order to be successful in a new market, supports you in developing a strategy, and works closely together with you throughout your international expansion.
Based on your startup’s needs, we match you with a lead mentor who has relevant experience and a deep network in your industry. In addition, we have various subject-matter experts in our pool of business mentors and coaches who can work with you in focused workshops and dedicated one-on-one sessions.
Check out these interviews with our startup mentors and alumni about their experiences.
What should I expect from my lead mentor?
Your lead mentor (or “strategic lead”) is a critical part of success in any German Accelerator program. A dedicated strategic lead serves as apoint of contact for the program and often brings a background to your startup that your founding team may lack or need support with.
The German Accelerator team selects a first-class mentoring team which fits perfectly with your startup’s strategic needs. From day one, the German Accelerator team, your lead startup mentor – together with the other mentors – puts all of their efforts into helping you achieve success.
During the German Accelerator program, you have a dedicated amount of startup mentoring hours – both with your lead startup mentor and specialized industry experts who offer more targeted support. Expect an open, interactive, and productive exchange of ideas during your weekly mentor meetings. Past startup founders have described the coaching experience as focused and highly productive.
How do I make the most out of the startup coaching and mentoring process?
Startup mentors at German Accelerator are true experts in their field. They guide and advise your startup on how to make your international growth and expansion most successful. They will challenge and validate your business model, your product-market fit, and your customer approach. Most importantly, they help you look at things from different angles.
To get the most out of your sessions with startup mentors and business coaches, here are some tips compiled from program alumni and current mentors:
- Listen carefully to your mentor’s outside perspective. This is a great opportunity to escape your own tunnel vision.
- Focus your startup mentoring sessions on a specific problem or question you can solve together.
- Clearly state what you need – there’s a tremendous network available, but you have to ask. Don’t be shy!
- Prepare well for meetings with your strategic lead mentor with written updates and questions in advance.
- Ask them to challenge you in order to make the most of your time in the program.
Check out this blog post for more: How to get the most of your startup mentoring at German Accelerator.
Will the mentors introduce me to potential clients and investors in their network?
Our vast global network consists of different partners, clients, and investors. Based on your individual needs, your startup mentors might also introduce you to their contacts once your company is ready to begin business conversations in a foreign market. If you need additional help with your fundraising strategy or customer approach, your startup mentor can provide guidance and help get you ready.
Will I get help building a local team? Do the startup mentors introduce us to talent from their personal networks?
Startup mentors from German Accelerator are industry experts in a wide variety of disciplines, and they’re happy to make introductions as they see fit, but you will have to carry out the actual implementation of hiring and building your team.
We’re always happy to spread the word about vacancies within the German Accelerator network to help our startups find suitable candidates, but beyond that, we’re not involved in any recruitment process.