The Mentoring Matrix You Did Not Know In a free-wheeling chat, Arpita Ganesh, CEO and Founder, Buttercups, shares some real life and practical founder-friendly advice regarding mentorship. As India`s foremost lingerie expert, she has recently raised, pre-series A funding from Snapdeal’s former chief product officer Anand Chandrasekaran, and its existing angel investors Kanwaljit Singh and Manoj Varghese. In her entrepreneurial journey, Arpita has overcome various odds and is exceptionally honest about attributing her success to her mentors. Here she dishes out the lesser known facts about mentors.
DROP THE LABEL: Too much is lost in trying to define and label someone as a mentor. As they say, the best mentoring happens without a formal tag. Find someone who understands business, you know you would listen to, will be brutally honest and come up with the best advice. “Let there be questions, unbiased advice, time and availability of the mentor and motivation. IT’S OK TO APPROACH A MENTOR THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS: “I approached my mentor through LinkedIn and said that I would like to connect and run my idea through him. Of course, I did not say – will you be my mentor? He responded and till today he is the best mentor I have.” Stick to keeping it short and simple, if you’re contacting someone for the first time, through social networks. Follow the social media do’s and don’ts. MENTORS ARE EVERYWHERE: Look around and you will find people who could mentor you everywhere. They could be speaking at a conference; you can meet them at an event, on the flight, and even in your