1. June – November 2014
Guide for Mentors

2. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
We really thank you for your
time. This guide will help
prepare you for the day of
mentorship in which you will
participate.
Sincerely,
Natalia, Ovidiu, Amanda – CRDF Global

3. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Orient the entrepreneur to work in ways that
will lead to their company’s success.
Do this through:
Gaining an understanding of their business
 Use their website, PowerPoint Presentation and
Business Model Canvas
Giving general business advice
 Help entrepreneur where their business model is
weak
 Offer useful connections to the entrepreneur
(optional, if it makes sense)
Help entrepreneurs create and improve five
deliverables:
 Their business model canvas using LaunchPad Central
 Completion of 20 customer interviews logged into
Launch Pad Central
 Their investor presentation
 A YouTube video of their thirty-second pitch
 Their public profile page on GUST

4. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
The Mentors should learn about their
assigned mentee ahead of the first meeting
with the mentee. An email will be sent out
with the entrepreneur’s profile and links to
check.
The mentorship focuses on Lean Startup
Methodology and uses LaunchPad Central,
an online program approved by Steve
Blank. Preparation for mentorship includes
understanding Lean Startup Methodology
and learning how to interface via Launch
Pad Central. There are videos to help you.
A Day in the Life – 4 minute video about
how a professor uses LaunchPad Central to
simplify his life and stay informed about
the venture’s progress
General Walk Through – How you can
quickly navigate to find information you
need to start mentorship conversations
and to leave feedback and suggestions.

5. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Meetings last between 30min-1hour
Mentee will take notes during the meeting
and upload to LaunchPad Central
Each meeting the mentor should
encourage the entrepreneur to perform at
least 4 customer interviews and to then
report back on the interviews.
Between each mentorship session, the
Local Mentor should dedicate some time
to prepare for the next meeting, view and
comment the entrepreneur’s progress as
logged on LaunchPad Central and if
necessary talk to third parties about their
mentees, such as potential collaborators,
investors or the local mentor.

6. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
At the close of the mentorship, the Mentor
will answer a short online survey. In the
survey the mentor will be asked to share:
the dates and duration of mentorship
meetings
which deliverables were completed by the
entrepreneur
if the deliverables showed improvement
during the coaching
general feedback on any improvements
noted in the entrepreneur
suggestions to improve the mentorship
program
This feedback will be used to comprise a
part of the Monitoring and Evaluation
report. Suggestions will be considered in
future mentoring programs that CRDF
Global coordinates.

7. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
To be clear, there is no obligation to
continue to mentor a mentee. However,
we have seen that relationships often
develop, and CRDF Global reminds you
that there is no conflict of interest, from
CRDF Global’s point of view, if the
mentor-mentee relationship continues
post program.

8. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
This is a suggested agenda. You may follow
your own agenda, as you wish, do things in
any order, assign the entrepreneur to do all
deliverables at once, etc. Tackle this in
anyway that you wish.
Meeting 1 - Introduction and Issue
Identification– The Venture Pitch and
Business Model Canvas
Meeting 2 - Review updated presentation
and business model canvas
Meeting 3 – Discuss and practice 30
second pitch
Meeting 4 – Review 30 second pitch and
Partnership planning
Meeting 5 – Pulling together the online
presence for investors: The Gust Profile
Page and financials.
Meeting 6 – Final review, closing, and
next steps

9. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Introductions
Ask entrepreneur what goals he/she has
for the mentorship program in general
Share what goals you have. To:
 Help achieve success in the venture in general
 Make sure you understand his/her business
 Discuss the business model and strengths and
weaknesses, suggestions
 Give suggestions to improve the pitch and
presentation
Have entrepreneur introduce the
business to you
Discuss what you understand the
business is about and the Business Model
Canvas
List out the strengths you see, Give
suggestions where you see weaknesses,
Ask where you need to see more
information or clarification.
Get specific with the pitch; How can ppt
be improved? Perhaps ask the
entrepreneur to pitch it to you live.

10. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Identification of customers and creating a
customer list, people whom they would
interview.
Validation of the market through first
developing and then doing 4 customer
interviews and reporting to you what they
learned.
That they address and improve their
presentations and business model
canvases.

11. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Review updated presentation and
business model canvas.
Did the entrepreneur make a good
proposal for customer development
including both potential interviewees,
and a great interview sheet?
Discuss additional “learning” that the
Entrepreneur has discovered during the
customer interviews. Did they make any
pivots as a result of getting feedback
from the market place?
Revisit issues that were discovered
during the first meeting.

12. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Introduce the idea of the 30-second
elevator venture pitch. Assign
entrepreneur to develop their 30 second
elevator venture pitch and record it. You
will watch it before the next meeting.
Assign the entrepreneur to complete 4
more customer development interviews.
You will check the Launch Pad Central and
share feedback there before next
meeting.

13. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Recommended agenda items:
Go over their first attempt at the 30
second pitch. Coach them on ways to
improve it.
Discuss ongoing experience with customer
development interviews
Have the entrepreneurs improved about
reaching out about their businesses? How
is their confidence level? How are the
results?
Homework:
Assign the entrepreneur to complete 4
more customer development interviews
and log them into Launch Pad Central.
Assign the entrepreneur to re-record the
30 second pitch based on feedback and
send you the link before your next
meeting.

14. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
By now, the Entrepreneur may be in a position to
articulate a refined business model and pitch, and
have interviewed many customers. At this stage the
goals are often to do more customer interviews,
revise their business model canvas hypotheses, and
to further prepare to pitch for financing and/or
developing a scalable business model.
Recommended agenda items:
 Review the improved pitch
 Discuss how the presentation, the 30 second pitch
and the lessons learned so far from the business
model canvas and customer interviews can be
linked to pivots, and also to communication and
recruiting future partners, investors, and team
members.
 Identify likely financing sources and strategies for
getting in front of the financing sources.
Homework
 Introduce the GUST profile, as it is a tool to have
investors understand the company.
 Assign entrepreneurs to complete the profile over
the next month, and you’ll review it at meeting 5.
 Assign the entrepreneur to complete 4 more
customer development interviews and log them
into Launch Pad Central.

15. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Recommended agenda items:
Review the Gust Profile Page. Could parts
be made stronger?
Specifically focus on the financial
information the entrepreneur would share
with the investor via GUST. Advise them
on what to share and how much. How to
value their company, discuss their
profitability, and other key numbers that
should be presented.
Homework:
The entrepreneurs polish and improve
their GUST Page
Assign the entrepreneur to complete 4
more customer development interviews
and log them into Launch Pad Central.

16. Ongoing Mentorship Program Guide
Mentors Edition
CRDF Global
Recommended agenda items:
Review the progress the entrepreneurs
have made over the 6 months. They
should have created a great investor
pitch, a confident and clear 30 second
pitch, a fantastic online presence, and be
ready to strike forward to gain new
partnerships.
Recognize together the areas where the
entrepreneurs still needs to work.
Create a plan of action with the
entrepreneur.
Closing business:
Clarify how you’d like to stay involved as
the mentorship program closes.