
Ask HN: Where do budding entrepreneurs find mentors? - nikkwong
Hi,<p>I&#x27;m your typical 20 something wantrepreneur attempting to turn something I built (www.formatic.io, if you&#x27;re interested), into an established product. I feel like I have a lot of my bases covered, I&#x27;m confident in the product-market fit, and I feel like there are several things I&#x27;ve gotten right.<p>However, I&#x27;m new in the industry and there are a lot of unknowns. And if I really want this product to succeed, right now is a very expensive time to make mistakes that could have been avoided had my team and I been aware of insights that come with experience.<p>I&#x27;ve yet to find a web service or the like that helps foster relationships between benevolent battle-hardened entrepreneurs and inexperienced entre&#x2F;wantrepreneurs. So, what do people do?
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namechecksout
I have once contacted a CEO via Instagram on a different matter (I offered him
some ideas) and he was very open and asked me to explain him in detail via
email. We've even met and he thanked me numerous time for being direct with
him and for my approach and analysis. I've also once offered one company to
work for them because I was passionate about their product and as I was
growing tired of waiting for an answer, I started following them and the
founders on all social networks. Now I am invited to work with them. Point is,
don't be afraid to reach out to them on their personal social networks or
mail, admit why you admire them and maybe talk about their achievements a
little. And then get what you want.

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narak
Beautifully designed and informative landing page! Makes me want to find a
reason to use the product :)

Since you seem to live in the Bay Area, have you tried reaching out to some
people in the industry you admire? Also, you must have some existing network,
maybe some folks who work in large tech companies with experienced managers,
or friends who run startups and have advisors/investors. Why not ask for
referral and introductions there?

Vet advisors and potential investors like you would any new hire. Understand
their unique background and why they would be valuable to your startup, and
then communicate that to them in your initial conversation. Let people know
why you want _them_ as your advisor. Wouldn't hurt to throw them some upside,
or ask them to invest if you are raising capital :)

Also, always get a second opinion on any advice. A lot of the time, you will
get conflicting wisdom and you have to ultimately decide what's right for your
company.

Best of luck!

