Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Dream Business Mentors

Like a guiding compass, a mentor makes clear the way forward. Their experience in life and business gives them oracle-like power to guide you to success. It can be difficult to find the perfect mentor. You have to find alignment of values ​​and relevance in their knowledge. But what if you could choose anyone in the world to guide you? Anyone you can think of, no matter how far-fetched?

I asked entrepreneurs to tell me what their ideal mentors are and why they chose them. Interestingly, the answers fell into three main categories. Many choose their ideal candidate based on pure business acumen, in the hope that their experience and insights would help their own search. Others choose based on different stats. First, there are those individuals who have a different outlook on life and second, there are role models who could inspire.

Mentors with business acumen

The largest group of dream mentors are wildly successful entrepreneurs, starting with none other than one of the richest men in the world. “I would like to have Bill Gates as my mentor,” Grig Richters requested, “He is not only a brilliant businessman, but also an incredible philanthropist and someone who has always remained curious and never stops learning.”

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has been described by Cornelius Creative’s Simon Cornelius as “one of the best business leaders in the world”, one who “has taken Tottenham from a small club to a top 6 club” by Cornelius Creative’s Simon Cornelius. in the world and had the vision for the future to make it multifunctional.”

Rae Radford, social media influencer, is said to appeal to former Dragon’s Den dragon, Theo Paphitis: “I’ve met him several times and he always comes across as honest but determined and he does a lot for small business owners every week. He would be a good benchmark for work, knowledge and laughter.” Founder of Missy Nang Treats, Hortense Julienne is said to have British perfumer Jo Malone as her mentor, citing “similar journeys of faith, business and cancer.” Entrepreneur Jesse Hanley suggests Kevin Rose because, “Diggnation started a spark, Foundation lit and I would love to thank him in person one day.”

There were also mentions to Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Sara Blakely and Whitney Wolfe Herd from other entrepreneurs looking for a guiding light.

Mentors with different philosophies

This group of dream mentors are all undeniably successful entrepreneurs. However, they are not only defined by their business success. Instead, they have become synonymous with modern business philosophy.

One of those entrepreneurs is Brazilian Ricardo Semler, former CEO of Semco and author of Maverick. “I would like to enjoy his philosophy and management style of ‘the power of giving power away,’” said Darren C. Joe of Touch MBA. “How does that work at his companies and schools? How does he models this behavior every day? It would be great.”

“Homemade, successful, forward-looking and free-thinking” entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant is said to be the founder of Wonder Leads, Dave Holloway’s number one pick. “He has the rare gift of distilling very complex ideas into very concise statements. He also understands the importance of happiness, which should be everyone’s ultimate goal.”

Rockstar Marketing’s Ravi Davda would like to tap into the mind of Tim Ferriss, “because why wouldn’t you want to work four hours a week and not more?” he asked. “In addition, I love how much he focuses on fitness as part of entrepreneurship. It’s so important.”

Mentors as leaders and role models

Finally, some of those surveyed chose individuals who they believed possessed desirable qualities not clearly related to business to be prominent in areas such as art and politics. Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes is Gemma Nice of Easyoga’s dream mentor. “He has so much experience in the world that I know he would be a great business mentor. He has the right attitude, confidence and ability to get things done no matter what.”

Lendsecured’s Nikita Goncars would choose the elusive street artist Banksy because “he’s a rule-breaker, he has strong and clear branding, he’s inspiring and his work is thought-provoking. I think these are all crucial traits of a successful entrepreneur.”

Jessica Morgan of Carnsight Communications said Michelle Obama really resonates with her, describing her as “successful but warm” and as someone who “made sacrifices and endured hardships, but also accomplished so much.”

Psychological Consultancy’s Geoff Trickey is a fan of British tennis player Emma Raducanu MBE “to teach us how to keep a cool head under the most incredible pressure.” He adds: “You have to make the right decisions to succeed consistently; mental toughness that would be more powerful in any boardroom!”

The wide variety of mentors proposed shows the diversity of entrepreneurs’ needs. What does each choice say about that entrepreneur? What does yours say about you? Without your dream mentor working with you in real life, it is still possible to channel them. Imagine what they would tell you if you asked for their support. What motivation and guidance would they provide?