Mentoring in Motion – The commute to TiEcon Delhi 2015 turns rewarding

YourStory is associated with TiEcon Delhi 2015 as Media Partner

‘Mentoring in motion’ is a unique initiative that was first organised at TiEcon 2014 to make the best use of delegates’ long commutes by giving participants the opportunity to choose a TiE Charter Member (senior entrepreneur) and accompany him or her to TiEcon in a pre-booked vehicle. The initiative proved so popular that it’s all set to return at TiEcon Delhi 2015 on 16 and 17 October.

The concept is simple. Delegates get to travel with their chosen mentors to the venue – given that the time taken is often close to an hour, they can use that ‘captive’ time to interact with their mentors and capitalize on the capital’s traffic snarls to turn a potentially wasted hour into something rewarding.

Startups can choose from the listed Charter Members the person they would like to travel with from their home to the venue. This way, they gain the flexibility to select their mentors based on their area of requirement. The ideal scenario could well be a startup being able to pitch their idea and gain funding or get the right advice that can help turn around their business to a faster growth track.

Mentors and mentees can choose either taxis from Carzonrent and or use Myles self-driven cars. Chaayos is serving up breakfast to make sure energy levels don’t begin to flag.

Vaibhav Srivastava of Integus, who’d had participated in 2014, says, “Mentoring in Motion was a great idea. I’m wondering if it can be followed outside the conference too. It gave me a great mentor to whom I was able to explain my idea and get excellent feedback. I would like to try this again.”

Kanishk Agarwal of CriTaxCorp had a positive experience as well. “Mentoring in Motion was a great initiative for a personal interaction with some of the best delegates from the startup eco system. I was lucky enough to get a mentoring session with Saurabh Srivastava, serial entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist, whom I didn't knew earlier but it was a learning experience to hear about how investors look at startup pitches and what exactly they look for in founders. It was a short session but a crisp and informative one.”

Mentors too found it fulfilling to interact with new entrants in the startup ecosystem. Atul Nath, Managing Director of Candid Marketing says, “I think it’s a super idea. It uses what would otherwise be dead time for both people involved. It’s a great place to start, though it’s a bit difficult to have in-depth discussion. It should be a first step in a 2- or 3-step mentoring process. It requires follow-up with the mentor for more meaningful dialogue. I recommend implementing this at multiple platforms.”

Alok Goyal of Helion Advisors believes that “TiEcon Delhi is a landmark event to celebrate and foster the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country. It has been a privilege to be associated with TiE. The mentoring sessions are a great opportunity for entrepreneurs as well as mentors to learn from each other. Thanks to TiE for pioneering this initiative!”

Here’s a list of mentors participating this year: