Start-ups fall prey to pseudo mentors, allege entrepreneurs

Many are asking for equity or money and merely conducting workshops on the pretext of mentorship A GOOD MENTOR who “has been there, done that” can help start-up go to the next level and it is important to chose the right one.

There has been an increase in bad mentors, or pseudo mentors, in the Hyderabad start-up ecosystem, allege entrepreneurs. Having a mentor on board is important for start-ups to open the gates of funding. A good mentor who “has been there, done that” can help start-up go to the next level and it is important to chose the right one.

Several early stage startups are allegedly falling prey to mentors who on the pretext of mentorship are asking for equity or money and merely conducting workshops. A Hyderabad based start-up founder who became victim of such pseudo mentorship pointed that the trend was increasing and needed to be stopped immediately.

An entrepreneur on condition of anonymity said, “It has become easier to be a mentor than setting up start-ups. Early stage startups and college entrepreneurs are becoming scapegoats. Some corporate dropouts and people who do not have entrepreneurial activity claim to be mentors.”

He said start-ups shouldn’t expect free mentorship and must pay for worthy people. “Some ask equity or money and they are affordable,” he said.

Entrepreneurs said lots of good mentors had become silent because of the rise in pseudo mentors. An entrepreneur, who wished to remain unidentified, said, “My mentor was fed up of the start-up ecosystem and left the country. During his stay, he opened up his vast network for me which helped me get easy access to some of the elites of industry.”

Having good mentors helps startup open up access to markets and can be lifechanging for a business. Often entrepreneurs are desperate, so they trust anyone who claims to offer them leverage.

Mr Jigesh Talasila of Loop Reality said, “Hyderabad is like any other city. It has good mentors and bad mentors. Today, unfortunately, pseudo mentors are targeting early stage or college entrepreneurs. A true mentor is someone you have to run behind and such a person adds value. Early stage start-ups need to know and rely on a guaranteed support system instead of falling into a trap”.

He suggested that government can come up with a single window for start-ups, where attested or peer-verified mentors are listed, especially for college students and first level start-ups. If something goes wrong, such start-ups can notify the government.

Whenever there is mentor coming up the trajectory of start-up dramatically changes. Hyderabad based healthcare startup eKinCare took on mentors about two years back following which it raised capital and is recruiting people. eKinCare founder Kiran Kalakuntla said, “Startups at each stage need different kinds of mentors. My mentors understood my weakness and helped me channelise on how I need to take various steps. They helped me with hiring key members, fund rise, introduction to companies, opened up their network for me once they believed my network. Some mentors trusted in idea and ability and they invested in company and active advisors guiding light house and some mentors given equity.”