Mentors

Mentors work closely with participants to help further their ventures. The mentors will be assigned to one or more projects (based on their availability) proposed in the program.

Our mentors:

are contributors of one or several projects or communities
are interested in sharing the benefit they receive from the communities
look for opportunities to gain and share their experience
want to help each entrepreneur grow and build a successful startup

What do mentors do? Mentors advise and inspire through:

Connecting to people, programs
Recommending resources, readings, experiences
Providing feedback to consider

A mentor spends around one-hour per week dedicated to the program, but also some time before the program to review applications.

They will meet their mentees every two weeks during the program and will attend group calls with other mentors to exchange notes and develop their mentoring skills further.

Becoming a mentor:

We are currently recruiting mentors. Please reach out to Nakia Melecio if you are interested at nakia.melecio@innovate.gatech.edu.

What are the benefits to being a member? Our mentors will:

gain mentoring skills (active listening, effective questioning, giving feedback) via mentoring training
learn to celebrate successes and approach challenges in mentoring
connect with a community of mentors
expand their knowledge on Open Science

Expertise Available: Mentors-Expectations

Provide domain and/or regional expertise whenever required
Challenge teams’ ideas in order to push the problem statement and solution forward
Direct teams to resources that may help them uncover more information around their idea or solution
It is okay not to know/have an answer. Feel free to encourage teams to fill out a new request with a more specific ask.
Mentors are not meant to co-create or develop your solution alongside the team

Our mentors eagerly anticipate engaging with developing startups that are just tapping into commercialization, leveraging a new technology or scientific discovery, and responding to unanswered medical, health, or social needs.

Entrepreneur Teams

Weekly update on metric’s
Customer interviews
Founder’s forum
Commercialization plan
Lead accountability

Mentors/Advisors

Weekly and ad hoc check-ins
Members of accountability council
Network intros

Coaches

Bi-weekly check-ins with teams
Founder’s forum

Investors

Up to teams and investors to decide on roles moving forward

Network

Network intros

Your Role as Mentor:

Bi-weekly 1-on-1 check-in sessions with your teams

Focused on metric’s and preparation for accountability council

Attend feedback sessions

(45 minutes per team) focused on the team’s progress

Your Role as an Advisor:

Ad-hoc meetings with teams

Focused on specific discreet topics linked to advisor’s area of expertise

Attend feedback sessions (optional) if invited by the teams

(45 minutes per team) focused on the team’s progress against metric’s

Mentor Roles & Responsibiities

The program’s mentor pool consists of Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs), Domain Experts, and Panelists.

EIRs:

Are CEOs or C-level executives
Lead teams of mentors that guide companies through the Networks Domain

Experts:

Are current or former senior executives with expertise in specific areas (e.g., marketing, finance, regulatory, operations)
Participate in mentor teams and attend review panels

Panelists:

Participate as subject matter experts in 90-minute review panels (1-4 per quarter)
Critique company presentations and provide feedback on content and readiness

Center for MedTech Excellence

Mentors

Georgia Institute of
Technology

General

Legal

Georgia Institute of
Technology

General

Legal

Center for MedTech Excellence

Mentors

Georgia Institute of Technology

General

Legal

Georgia Institute of Technology

General

Legal

Georgia Institute of
Technology

Georgia Institute of
Technology