Entrepreneurship Mentorship Program
The Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship mentorship program pairs Seton Hall University students interested in entrepreneurship with volunteer mentors. The mentors may be alumni, entrepreneurs, investors or professionals who advise entrepreneurs. The mentors have a desire to share their experience and knowledge in areas that include management, marketing, branding, startup business development strategy and product development.
For students, the mentorship program provides an opportunity to obtain “real-world” advice and feedback on startup business ideas for Pirates Pitch and other collegiate business competitions, or launch a new venture. For students who have already started a business, the mentorship program can provide guidance about operating and growing a business.
For mentors, the program provides an opportunity to meet and interact with innovative and passionate students, guide students in evaluating their ideas and concepts, and share stories of your successes with entrepreneurship classes and with student entrepreneurship clubs.
Students, the Entrepreneurship Mentorship Program is right for you if:
- You have an innovative idea for a new venture and would like an experienced entrepreneur to provide feedback to help you determine if the idea is viable, as well as receive guidance on how you can do research and take other actions to proceed.
- You have written an executive summary or business plan for Pirates Pitch or other business competition and would like feedback.
- You are developing a business idea and have legal and/ or accounting questions and would like general advice on these issues.
- You have already launched a startup, and seek guidance and feedback on how to get your venture to the next level.
- You are curious about entrepreneurship, and would like to speak to a successful entrepreneur about what’s involved.
- You would like to invite an entrepreneur to speak to a student club event.
Interested? Fill out The Student Mentor Request Form. The Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship will contact you shortly and connect you with a mentor. Mentors are matched based on the mentor’s expertise and the type of guidance or assistance you are seeking.
Become a Mentor: Mentors are mostly selected from the New Jersey-New York Metro area and are largely Seton Hall alumni or friends of the University. Mentors are encouraged to hold one face-to-face meetings with students on the South Orange campus. The following areas represent the types of support that mentors provide:
- Help with developing or reviewing a business model
- Market or customer-level feedback
- General Career Advice for those interesting in being an entrepreneur
- General advice on topics about patents or other legal issues
- Technical input regarding a product
- Speaking about your career experiences with students in classes or at student club events
Interested? Please fill out the Request to be Mentor Form.
How does the Mentorship Program Work? The Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship will introduce an entrepreneurship student, or a group of entrepreneurship students working on a project, to a mentor. The students and the mentor can arrange to meet at the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the fifth floor of Jubilee Hall, and can follow up with phone meetings, if necessary. The entire mentoring process should take from one to three hours of time over a period of one to three weeks.
For more information, contact Susan Scherreik, Founding Director, the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at scherrsu@shu.edu