The mentoring relationship entrepreneurs are able to foster is often crucial to the success of their business, and the first engagement with their mentor can often be crucial in establishing the groundwork for the relationship. Research from Bayes Business School suggests that a speed dating format can provide valuable feedback for early-stage entrepreneurs.

The researchers explored initial interactions between entrepreneurs and potential mentors. The study builds on previous research that highlights how feedback can be crucial in helping entrepreneurs to develop both themselves and their business. These studies don’t tend to examine the impact of these early exchanges on the relationship between mentor and mentee, however.

Mentoring relationships

The researchers analyzed 54 speed dates and found that these initial meetings can often turn into long-term mentoring relationships, but that this often depends on the nature of the feedback given during the session, as well as the way potential mentors utilized their expertise and whether there was a commitment to actioning the feedback.

1. The nature of the feedback: while feedback often failed to give any novel insights, unwanted feedback that comes out of the blue wasn’t effective either—the best option was spontaneous feedback related to something discussed earlier in the conversation (e.g., “you said you want to expand to 25 cities in the next three months—I think you should consider X”)
2. The expertise displayed by the mentor: entrepreneurs liked mentors who gave expert advice, but only when linked to something they brought up earlier and when the mentor also acknowledged the expertise of the entrepreneur (e.g., such as asking the entrepreneur about their thoughts on the matter, the progress they made so far, or the specific context/industry they work in)
3. Whether entrepreneur and mentor commit to feedback early on: whenever an early feedback exchange was abandoned (because mentors didn’t answer entrepreneurs’ questions or entrepreneurs evaded unsolicited feedback), responses to later feedback were not positive, even if that feedback was in line with points 1 and 2.

The researchers believe that their findings could help accelerators, incubators and other organizations that often provide mentoring to entrepreneurs to do so more effectively.

“With more and more people becoming entrepreneurs, getting feedback from strangers, and having a need for a mentor, is important to understand better how entrepreneurs meet their mentors, they conclude.

“Our research shows that skills relevant in speed dating, such as building on what the other person says and avoiding the temptation to show how knowledgeable you are, are key to turning a first meeting into a long-term relationship.”