Tiwani Heritage Founders Carol Lathbridge and Lola Cawood
From startup to scaling, company founders are constantly learning, navigating change and developing new skills to take their business to the next stage of growth.
External support from a mentor with shared experiences can make a huge difference in their success. And yet many of those new to owning a business are unaware of the value of mentorship, as research by Virgin StartUp has revealed.
Their recent survey found that 75% of new founders have used a business mentor, with 56% taking advice from friends or family and 39% using a professional mentor. But of those who just thought about starting their own business, 40% had no intention of turning to anyone for business advice.
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Virgin StartUp has one of the largest entrepreneurial mentoring programs in the UK. Successful starter loan applicants are also matched with a dedicated mentor as part of a broader 12-month support program.,
Managing Director Andy Fishburn says: “From our research we can see that there is a gap between people who run a business, who have mentors and see value in them, and those who plan to start a business and don’t necessarily understand the benefits of mentoring. It has tremendous value, especially in difficult times. Having someone by your side who can provide that experience, and honest and objective feedback, who can challenge you but also support you, is incredibly important.”
Tiwani Heritage, which makes recyclable hair extensions especially for women who want to wear their hair in curly or afro styles, was launched in 2020 by Carol Lathbridge and Lola Cawood with the help of a Virgin Startup loan.
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“There was so much we didn’t know about doing business when we first started, and at times it felt quite overwhelming,” says Lathbridge. “We were able to talk to several mentors on a variety of topics, from general business practice to specific issues like marketing and finance. It certainly helped us make smarter decisions.”
Cawood agrees, adding that their guidance had helped them grow as individuals, business partners and friends. She says: “Having access to a mentor, someone who has been on a similar journey, has given us a sense of empowerment and fearlessness, especially when it comes to taking risks and knowing when it makes sense to take those risks . As a result, we are much further along on our business journey than we would have been without mentorship.”
The couple is now scaling their business and planning to accelerate growth through an equity crowdfunding campaign to be launched in the new year.
Business mentors can be found in many places, including in a founder’s existing network of contacts. Previous employers and senior colleagues may also be worth approaching for guidance. They may be able to suggest other contacts from their network.
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LinkedIn is useful for finding people with relevant experience, as is joining an industry-specific networking group. When looking for a mentor, it’s important to know what you want out of the relationship.
Tom Dunlop
When Tom Dunlop, founder of to summariselistened to GoCardless and Monzo founder Tom Blomfield on the diary of a CEO podcast, was struck by the similarities between their life experiences and passion for technology, then asked him to become his mentor.
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Before launching Summize in 2018, Dunlop worked as an in-house attorney at several fast-growing software companies.
“I had learned so much from the founders I’ve worked for in the past, but had little experience with formal business mentoring,” Dunlop says. “I discovered that Tom Blomfield had also studied law and experienced the monotony of dealing with manual contracts. He left the law and joined the Y Combinator program, where he co-founded Go Cardless. I was looking for a mentor who could have been in my shoes and offer support outside of the business, and Tom did.”
Blomfield’s mentorship has been critical to Summize’s successful scale-up, contributing to the latest investment round and providing critical guidance around scaling, future investment and expansion in the US.
“The most tangible benefit, however, is Tom’s opportunistic attitude,” Dunlop added. “International expansion is our next growth target, and the US is a huge potential market for us. To have a mentor who shares this goal with equal passion and has gone through their own global scaling journey is transformative.”
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