The Syracuse Entrepreneurial Mentors Program
"If you don't know where you are going, any path will take you there."
-The Koran
"Nothing that sends you to the grave with a smile on your face comes easy. Work hard doing what you love. Find out what gives you energy and improve on it."
-Betty Coster, Entrepreneur
Contents
Objectives
The Entrepreneurial Mentors Program has been created for students pursuing formal studies in Entrepreneurship (the Undergraduate Major or Minor in Entrepreneurship and the Graduate Concentration in Entrepreneurship). The program seeks to accomplish the following objectives for the three involved parties:
For the student---
- Provide students with successful entrepreneurial role models
- Develop a special one-to-one supportive relationship
- Encourage the development of attitudes that result in entrepreneurial success, such as persistence, focus, calculated risk taking, salesmanship, and ethical practices.
- Provide a context for students to discuss and see the real-world application of concepts taught in the classroom
For the mentor---
- Provide the mentor with exposure to the concerns and perspectives of bright young students
- Enable the mentor to “touch the lives” of young men and women by assisting in their personal and professional development
- Assist the mentor in identifying high calibre prospective employees.
For the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program and the University---
- Help to ensure our students obtain real world perspectives on issues associated with entrepreneurship
- Create visibility for the Syracuse entrepreneurship program in the business community
- Identify business partners who can work with the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program on a variety of entrepreneurship-related programs
[back to top]
Who is Eligible, and When?
To qualify for a mentor students must be currently enrolled, and must have applied to and been accepted into the Major in Entrepreneurship, the Minor in Entrepreneurship, or the MBA Concentration in Entrzepreneurship. They must also have completed the Mentor Request form. Students can be assigned to mentors anytime during the last 50 hours of enrollment (junior and senior years as undergraduates, anytime during MBA program).
[back to top]
How are Mentors Selected?
Mentors are selected from all sectors of the business community, and need not be Syracuse University Alumni. The mentor must have been involved in a new venture start up within the last 10 years and still be active in the business community. The mentor’s firm must have at least $2MM in sales. Due to the need to meet regularly with the student, it is recommended (but not required) that mentors live within a two hour drive Syracuse.
Mentors will be provided with an information kit that outlines roles and responsibilities, provides suggestions on approaches to successful mentoring, and outlines sample activities in which the mentor and student can get involved.
[back to top]
What's the Time Frame for the Mentoring Relationship?
Mentor relationships will be established for a period of twelve months, renewable for a second twelve months or until six months after the student graduates. Students will be assigned a mentor on a rolling basis, typically within one month of declaring their minor or thematic sequence. The mentor relationship will be reviewed after six months by obtaining feedback from both the entrepreneur and the student.
[back to top]
How Will the Mentorship Work?
Care is taken to properly match mentors with students. Once a mentor is assigned to a student, the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program will provide the mentor with a copy of the student’s resume and the entrepreneurial inventory filled out by the student when applying to the entrepreneurship program. The student will be provided with a copy of the mentor’s resume, and be asked to do background research on the entrepreneur’s company. The student will make the initial contact with the mentor, and an initial get-together will be scheduled. The mentor and student will then identify a set of possible activities in which they can jointly engage over the coming semester.
The mentor is expected to meet monthly with the student. Among the suggested activities are visits to the mentor’s place of business during regular business hours to witness first hand the entrepreneurial process. This could include both special tours/meetings, job shadowing, and attending regularly scheduled business meetings to gain practical first hand exposure. The mentor may also want to have the mentor spend time with some of his/her key managers. Other beneficial experiences include social functions, business lunches/dinners, small internships, hands-on projects, attending seminars or conferences, community service projects/events, mentor visits to campus, and athletic or cultural activities.
A Mentor Program kick off event will take place at Syracuse University in September of each year, involving all current mentors and student participants. It will include a reaffirmation of the relationship expectations, examples of successful activities, and discussions of how to improve mentorship experiences. Group discussions will be organized to provide both the students and the mentors to ensure a productive experience.
[back to top]
What is Expected of the Mentor?
Time is the most valuable thing our mentors have to give to students. It is anticipated that the mentorship will require approximately five hours of a mentor’s time per month, that each mentor will work with one student, and that the formal relationship will last for a year. The mentorship involves a personal, role modeling relationship, and, as such, the mentor must be open both to sharing his/her personal and professional experiences successes, mistakes, uncertainties, perceptions and lessons learned, and to learning about the student’s objectives, plans, dreams, experiences, and concerns. Interactions should be ongoing, with contact at least once per month, and include both social and business contexts. Interactions should not be initiated just by the student, but also by the mentor.
[back to top]
What is Expected of the Student?
Students must approach the mentorship as an extension of their total learning experience. They must take the initiative to regularly contact the mentor, to visit his/her facilities, and to ask probing questions about the mentor and his experiences. Students are expected to keep of diary of their mentoring experiences, a copy of which must be submitted to the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program prior to graduation.
[back to top]
Further Inquiries:
Please contact the EEE Department at eeeinfo@syr.edu, 315-443-6899 |
