Find a mentor or EIR
Search for relevant experience, request a focused conversation and prepare for an agreed session.
OpenBuilder's mentor directory includes Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, or EIRs: experienced builders and operators who can help you examine a decision. Choose someone for their relevant experience, not simply because they appear first.
Before you start
Sign in before opening the mentor directory. Bring a short explanation of your venture, the decision in front of you and what you have already tried. A request is easier to assess when it has one purpose.
Find a relevant person
- Search the directory by name, description or area of expertise.
- Use the expertise filter to narrow the list.
- Open a profile and read the person's background, areas of focus and any availability notes.
- Check whether their experience fits your current stage and question.
Featured placement is editorial. It is not a live ranking or a promise that the person is free to meet. If the full directory cannot load, featured profiles may still appear.
Request a conversation
- On the profile, complete the request with your name, venture, topic and context.
- State the specific decision or question. Include only enough evidence to make it understandable.
- Select your preferred duration and submit once.
- Read the confirmation carefully and keep it for reference.
- Agree a time and joining details with the mentor before treating the conversation as booked.
Open Support to see the saved case and its public updates. Lab guidance and mentor bookings also have their own records under My support requests. The case tracks coordination; the original booking or relationship record remains authoritative for an agreed session or assignment. Use the existing reference when replying instead of submitting the same request again.
Make the session useful
Before an agreed conversation, prepare one question, a short evidence excerpt and the outcome you hope to leave with. Ask what material the mentor wants beforehand. Finish by agreeing an action, who owns it and when you will review the result.
If a request fails, you cannot find an appropriate mentor or you have not received a response, follow mentoring troubleshooting. A general private support brief can help frame the question without depending on one named person.