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On mentoring.

As I sit in Honolulu with a giant avocado toast, watching a pigeon fight a handful of tiny sparrows over a discarded bread crust, I can’t help but wonder about mentoring. Sure, the fact that I spent some time last week supporting Hawaiian female founders in perfecting their pitch presentations through FoundHer might have something to do with my train of thoughts, but the way this large bird greedily pecks away the cute little sparrows certainly plays into it all.

I don’t think I had a mentor. Of course, I learned a lot from my first boss, a woman, a rare find in the advertising industry, especially in the car scene, where I spent so much time. But back when I was that little sparrow, I sure had to endure my share of pecking. It wasn’t all bad, don’t get me wrong, but I am not sure I truly felt nurtured and cared for either. I had to work for it, I had to toughen up, and I felt like I had to be better to get the same attention as the guys around me, or at least work harder or be fiercer.

I am glad that times have changed and now, more organizations like FoundHer and Flik allow women with experience in their field to support and nurture younger women. It feels softer now, like we are allowed to be vulnerable and real with each other. Like we don’t have to take the shit that we thought was normal many years ago.

Originally, I thought I’d share the consensus from last week’s advice for the founders – Draw your investors in with your story, and your why, make sure they care and they know you care, and then back that up with numbers, so they feel confident in making the choice to support you. I could elaborate, but I think you have all heard me talk about similar points many times before.
Hence my walk down memory lane. And my encouragement is to be a mentor if you can, you might not think you have much to share yet, but I assure you, you do, peers can be mentors too if enough empathy and care go into the process. And if the opposite is the case, and you feel like you know it all, great, share it, but also, it’s never too late to get a mentor for yourself and take on another point of view. Learning, just like branding is never done. I am only now feeling confident enough to reach out to people I admire, whether they are little sparrows or big fish, and ask them for advice. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all get used to being honest and asking for what we need? Maybe we could share that bread crust and all be happy?

Much love, Lisa & Tim