Ask HN: How did you meet your Mentor and what drew you to them?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1249313

by nurall • 16 years ago

4 6 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am on the lookout for a Mentor, I was wondering how you guys met your Mentor and how you connected? What is the secret sauce for a successful Mentor-Protege relationship according to you guys?

ismarc2• 16 years ago

Honestly, this is going to sound cheesy at first, but it's not, I promise you. My dad was the first mentor I had. Entire time I was a kid he was trying to get different businesses off the ground. After I moved out he actually succeeded for a while, but that eventually imploded. You see, my dad isn't a very skilled person. He's lacking a large amount of business sense. He's really not even very bright. However, he's one hell of a salesman. He could always sell the product, but couldn't keep the business together. I saw him fail repeatedly, and learned from his examples. Essentially, I had a decade of failed startup experience before I was trying my own. The end result? He was a mentor by showing me a large number of ways to fail.

nurall3• 16 years ago

Interesting, I totally agree with you. I considered my dad my Mentor too early on. But as one grows and our world view changes we probably start looking out for other people to look up to and learn from. Have you connected successfully with a Mentor after your dad?

ismarc2• 16 years ago

I've had (and have) many mentors over the years. The way I found most of them was I'd have a question on something I couldn't get answered. I'd go to IR and ask the question. Whether anyone knew the answer or not, I'd hang out for a while answering other folks questions or just chatting. It was never anything formal, but eventually there would be people I considered experts who didn't mind an email with questions. Thing is, it goes both ways a lot of times now. People who I would consider mentors for some things would likely consider me a mentor for others.

My advice would be to not look for a mentor, but instead put yourself in situations where there are knowledgable people to meet.

seven• 16 years ago

I am not sure whether my mentors are aware that they are my mentors.

I am a freelance developer and security guy. Trying to go from services to something more scalable.

My business mentor is an about 60 year old African business man, who is my client since about 8 years. He grew up very poor and is now owner of many companies, providing jobs for several thousand people. I am still fascinated about how he approaches new things and try to learn from him whatever is possible. I try to see him at least every 1-2 years in person, but we exchange emails more or less every month.

Then I have my coding mentor. We shortly worked together in a project some years ago. I realized that he is a genius and started calling/emailing him when I had something interesting to say or to ask.

I would give the following advice to find and keep a mentor: Do not expect anybody to ask you for your progress. Present your work. Ask for opinion. Do not be afraid to question the advice of your mentor. And you should care about your mentor too. Give your opinion on your mentors work.

nurall3• 16 years ago

Great Advice :)

Ask HN: How did you meet your Mentor and what drew you to them?

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