Entrepreneurial mentoring originated in Canada and is now a widespread practice in Switzerland. The mentor is usually a more experienced professional who provides support to the young entrepreneur in order to help him/her refine his/her project.
Not to be confused with consulting or coaching, mentoring supports inexperienced professionals. It is a question of equipping them to become aware not only of their talents and assets but also their biases or obstacles. While the mentor never makes decisions on behalf of the mentee, he/she provides experience and an external perspective. "Experience counts more than age, but the role of mentor requires a certain amount of practical experience," explains Emile Dupont, head of the Technology Transfer team and the mentoring program at Innosuisse, which supports more than 600 project leaders every year.
Former researcher José Achache, who has been mentoring young entrepreneurs in the space and satellite sector for years at Lausanne-based incubator AP-Swiss, sums up his role as a mentor in these words: "Each relationship is different, but it is always a matter of pushing the mentees in what they do well, and holding them back in what they do less well."
Avoiding pitfalls
Sebastien Meunier, Director of Industrial Transformation for Basel Area Business and Innovation, highlights the very pragmatic nature of this distinctive form of support. Mentoring is one of the pillars of the i4Challenge’s "New Ideas" developed by his agency to support project leaders in the field of industrial transformation 4.0. by providing intelligent solutions. The winners, most of them young graduates, benefit from the free support of a mentor for six months, for three hours a week.
The key is to provide business-oriented support to help these budding companies find their market. "Our mentees often have a very good grasp of the scientific and technical aspects of their projects. However, a good idea or even a good product is not always enough," says Sébastien Meunier. "Our mentors are established professionals who have proven their ability to sell their services or solutions to their clients. They know what a business relationship is, how customers behave and how to approach them. They are there to help our mentees structure their approach, even if it means not going in the wrong direction. It's okay to make mistakes, but you have to have the clarity to realize it."
An alchemy to be explored
It is the role of a good mentor to help a young CEO temper his or her expectations or ambitions, gain insight and distinguish between enthusiasm and reality. "The mentor's job is also to make the CEO aware that he/she is not the only one in charge, especially after the initial fundraising or subsidy phase," notes José Achache. "Attracting investors is one thing, but he/she must also be accountable to his/her funders and administrators, which is sometimes challenging to accept.”
This potentially delicate exercise requires professionalism and empathy," says Emile Dupont. "The 20 or so mentors we have brought together are all experts in the field of technology transfer and in linking the worlds of research and business. But they are also people with distinctive social skills: willingness to share information, straightforwardness, an ability to express what they want to say... It's not easy to tell a young CEO that he/she is on the wrong track or that his/her idea is less revolutionary than he/she thinks. Yet, this is what enables us to build a trusting, effective and profitable relationship." Whether born of mutual technical expertise or a shared passion for a particular hobby, some form of alchemy must be found to help the young creator gain a foothold and eventually become autonomous.
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Reverse mentoring, il mentoring inverso
Ex ricercatore al Centro nazionale di ricerca scientifica in Francia, José Achache ha diretto un importante programma dell’Agenzia spaziale europea (ESA), così come il gruppo intergovernativo GEO. Dal 2012, segue a Losanna delle start-up come Geosatis, Altyn e Astrocast nel quadro della piattaforma AP-Swiss, incaricata di aiutare le giovani imprese del settore spaziale a identificare dei partner istituzionali svizzeri e a ottenere dei finanziamenti dell’ESA. Mentore da molto tempo, ha imparato a rivestire un nuovo ruolo nell’ambito del reverse mentoring, un mentoring inverso che vede il giovane portare il più esperto a esplorare nuove prospettive.
"Accompagnando dei giovani creatori d’impresa, ho scoperto un nuovo universo e, oltre ad aver potuto apportare loro la mia esperienza, io stesso ho imparato molto", spiega l’ex ricercatore. Si tratta di un modo per mantenere il contatto con l’innovazione nel settore dei satelliti e dell’Internet delle cose (IoT), ma anche l’apprendimento di un nuovo ruolo: "Con il tempo, delle persone che non avevo mai accompagnato mi hanno sollecitato per unirmi al loro board come presidente, quando invece la mia esperienza mi avrebbe condotto piuttosto verso un ruolo di consulente tecnico. Grazie a loro e con loro, ho imparato a padroneggiare competenze che non avevo del tutto cinque anni fa", spiega José Achache, che dirige oggi i consigli d’amministrazione di una mezza dozzina di start-up, tutte nel settore spaziale. La relazione mentore-mentee va a vantaggio di entrambe le parti.
Last modification 02.02.2022
