Do More Faster India - Brad Feld

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bhava,

       pitrudevo bhava,

       acharyadevo bhava,

       atithidevo bhava.

      It literally means “Be one for whom the Mother is God, be one for whom the Father is God, be one for whom the Teacher is God, be one for whom the guest is God.”

      From a very young age these lessons are ingrained in us and we are taught to treat our parents and teachers with the utmost God‐like respect. This learning is often extended from parents and teachers to any elder, resulting in a subservient relationship with anyone we believe is more experienced, more educated, or more successful than we are. We don’t usually question or challenge them; we do what they say and avoid any form of confrontation.

      Respect is a strong foundational element for every mentor relationship, but respect in a mentor relationship should be mutual; it should never mean subservience. In the West, entrepreneurs tend to have an outspoken and irreverent attitude toward mentors. Entrepreneurs know they are trying to share the status quo with mentors and this belief often translates into an aggressive attitude. Even if a mentor has achieved significantly more than the entrepreneur—they’re famous, have a lot of money, are better educated, or differ on some other characteristic—these entrepreneurs will interact with that person as if they share the same status.

      I believe this is a healthy approach to the mentor–founder relationship. In the West it’s expected that the founder will question, challenge, argue with, or disregard advice he or she receives from a mentor. It’s also expected that the mentor won’t mind being challenged, won’t take it personally, and won’t retaliate. In fact, many of the mentors I’ve worked with welcomed and even embraced challenges to their ideas.

      When you’re first searching for mentors or mentees, don’t settle. By “settle” I mean, ask yourself what qualities or characteristics of a mentor relationship you need to make it perfect, to make it fruitful. Take the time to write those qualities down and then be thoughtful about whether those qualities will be met by a potential mentor or mentee. You may run into someone who is building a hot startup with exciting potential, but they may not be the best mentee for you. Similarly, just because someone is rich or a successful CEO, or is very well educated, they may not be the best mentor for you, either. Refer back to your list of qualities and characteristics that will really help you and filter every person through those. If they meet most of your criteria, they might be a great mentor or mentee.

      My advice is to choose wisely, be selective, and don’t be afraid to seek the mentor relationships that are right for you.

      One of the things I’ve learned as a founder and as a mentor is that everyone is learning, because creating a new business is, well, new. There aren’t any easy answers and ideas; there are not even existing answers to questions you need to answer. You have to explore and test everything. This is true for both mentors and founders and no matter how successful someone is, they can always learn. That’s what makes being a mentor exciting. But as a mentor, you should never feel that you’re in a one‐sided relationship, that you’re providing all the ideas and all the energy to the founder. So, as a founder, find out how you can provide value to your mentors and make a point to offer them your help or better yet, explore something together.

      To make a mentor relationship truly mutual, you have to be willing to ask for help. You already have your list of qualities that you want from a mentor, but now you’ll have to think about how you want them to help you. Do you need advice on strategy, or operations? Do you need them to make introductions, help with financing, or provide advice on how to hire the right people?

      Those are the easy things to ask a mentor; the difficult conversations are the follow‐up questions, the ones where a mentor doesn’t follow through on a commitment made to you. How do you get a mentor to follow up on something they promised you?

      I’ve run into this situation a lot, as a mentor and as a mentee, so you should expect it to happen to you. I’ve found that a lot of times a polite follow‐up question works great, because a lot of mentors are busy and your requests can get lost or pushed aside. I always try to craft a follow‐up question that will provide them an option of “I can’t do it now,” or “no.” It’s better to have an answer from a mentor rather than a nonresponse.

      As a mentor, if I say I’m going to help a founder, I help them. I don’t talk a big game and not follow through. But if I let things slip, then I expect a founder to (politely) remind me that I promised them something. Mentors and mentees should both feel comfortable holding each other accountable for commitments.

      Finally, realize that many mentor relationships don’t work out. If you find that a mentor is not working out, it’s okay to talk with them frankly and end the relationship. If you find that a mentee isn’t doing what they said they’d do, it’s okay to talk with them frankly and terminate the relationship. If you have developed a relationship based on trust and mutual respect, parting ways will not be a big deal for founders or mentors.

       Sharda Balaji

       Sharda is founding partner of NovoJuris Legal, an innovative new-age law firm specializing in corporate, private equity, fund formation, fund investments, technology, cross-border transactions, IP, mediation, and settlements. NovoJuris is consistently ranked top 5 in India's private equity placements and has participated in 360+ transactions representing entrepreneurs, VCs, acquisitions, and exits.

      India is gaining the world’s attention with the very high number of startups and unicorns. While the government is continuously making strides in ease of doing business in India, there are a lot of things—like regulations—that can derail a good idea from getting to the market. If you’re starting a business, then legal advice is certainly advisable, especially from lawyers who understand the path from starting up and scaling up exponentially. As a lawyer who has worked with hundreds of startups, I wanted to provide startup founders with an overview of the legal challenges involved in starting a business so that you can budget your time and resources effectively.

      Upon

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