SBA Launches Mentoring Program For Startups

The U.S Small Business Administration has launched an initiative to get current business owners to mentor and support startups and entrepreneurs and help them become the next generation of American companies.

As part of the White House’s Startup America initiative, the Entrepreneurial Mentor Corps (EMC) is aiming to support more than 1,000 startup and early-stage firms across the country. SBA is partnering with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in identifying organizations and mentoring best practices for the EMC program.

In line with that, today SBA Administrator Karen Mills announced one of the first initiatives of EMC, a pilot program that will match mentors with 100 startups in the clean energy sector.
“Who better for entrepreneurs and startups to learn from than individuals who have been down a similar path before,” Mills said.

“Mentors can provide valuable insights critical to their success; from opportunities for financing, advice on hiring to even walking an entrepreneur through steps for taking a product or idea into the commercial market. The Entrepreneurial Mentor Corps will mobilize some of the best and brightest business leaders to help create the opportunities for success, drive innovation and spur job creation across the country.”

Through EMC’s clean energy pilot, four regional “accelerators” will identify and match mentors with 100 clean energy startups, to help them quickly grow their revenue, create jobs, and attract outside financing while avoiding pitfalls that frequently challenge startups. Accelerators are organizations that offer services ranging from mentoring and technical assistance to business guidance and focused networking.

Startup America’s EMC program, through the partnership between SBA and the Kauffman Foundation, will work to create mentoring initiatives across many industry sectors with a target of helping more than 1,000 entrepreneurs annually and build a nationwide network of mentors, accelerators and successful startups.