The Mentor Role
Industry Mentors are deeply involved during the seven-week period of the curriculum. They serve as networking and industry advisors, and help reinforce relevant lessons from the curriculum. I-Corps Mentors are advisors that have two primary roles:
- By being a third-party resource for the team, the mentor helps to recognize and reduce confirmation bias during the customer discovery process. The I-Corps Mentor is in some ways an extension of the I-Corps Teaching Team in helping the team absorb and apply relevant course lessons.
- The I-Corps Mentor is someone that has industry contacts and knows the ecosystem of the target market area. I-Corps Teams will be interviewing more than 100 potential customers and potential partners in-person. A good mentor will help the team find the right people to interview.