In conversation: mentoring

This 'in conversation' brings together two Fellows, Paul Miller and Matt Kepple, to discuss mentoring and their personal experiences of it.  

They believe their businesses have benefited by the influence of a mentor and now hope to pass their experiences on to others. Miller set up the School of Everything last October to 'match up people that want to learn with people that have got something to teach'. In 2006, Matt Kepple set up Gradulicious with help from the Commission for Youth Social Enterprise to organise events for recent graduates to network with each other.

Paul Miller: Networking can be effective in meeting a wide range of goals in a social context, whereas mentoring has to be a safe space where you can put your weaknesses on the line. When I left Demos [the political think tank], there were a number of people that gave me advice and helped me formulate my thinking. I had meetings with people who fundamentally altered the direction I was going in.

Matt Kepple: The person that I spent a lot of time with was from NESTA [the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts]. He had experience in setting up small to medium-sized organisations and had also worked in the creative industry. He helped me address some fundamental questions, such as 'What are you doing?' and 'What do you have planned?'. The best mentors don't tell you what to do, but work with you to discover a solution.

PM: I agree. Mentoring is about more than getting basic information - it is about giving you the confidence to make some big decisions. It has amazed me how helpful people can be, with individuals saying things such as: 'I have been through this, here's what you need to think about doing'. A good example is the organisation Striding Out, which is great at promoting entrepreneurship - the people I've had contact with there have been invaluable.

MK: Yes, there are all sorts of organisations offering support, such as the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship, but the types of help you can get from these groups can vary. The people that can help provide general support are different from those that can give you bespoke advice in a specialised area. Ultimately, it is important to hook up with as many different types of people as you can.

PM: I would say there are many areas in which mentoring has been invaluable for me in working for myself. The first was examining questions such as - should we be a business, a charity or a government project? How should we structure ourselves? What kind of investors are we looking for? When discussing these things, the most important element is that when you have a conversation with a mentor, it is a safe dialogue.

MK: To pay for some of the expertise I have had access to would have been impossible - I have learned so much.  I am a mentor at the moment to two other people - someone starting an ethical café and another person working in the music industry. The point is they are completely unrelated industries but I'm able to help them with setting up their businesses. And you never know - sometimes you find someone you had no idea would be ever able to help you. As a case in point, I met someone doing the Mongol Rally who was later able to give me a business loan of £10,000.

If you have any interest in mentoring and would like to continue the conversation with other Fellows, write to networks@rsa.org.uk