Get started as a mentor or helper

Mentors and helpers contribute experience, questions and practical feedback while founders retain ownership of their work. Creating an account is the beginning of the pathway; access and assignments depend on review.

Apply through the mentor entry

1. Choose I can help.
2. Create your account and complete any required profile details.
3. Continue to the mentor application in Join the ecosystem.
4. Describe the experience and support you can offer, then submit.
5. Follow the confirmation and wait for the application review.

Already signed in? Open Join as a mentor to reach the existing application.

Understand access after approval

Approved mentors can enter the mentor workspace, review first-session essentials and browse the Mentor playbook. Operational assignments and bookings require an approved mentor profile; the workspace explains when that profile is not yet ready.

It is possible to have resource access before a working founder assignment. An empty assignment list does not mean you should seek access to someone else's private work. If you expected access, use mentor support to clarify your status.

While waiting, the public Mentor as a Learning Partner path can help you practise useful questions and reflection.

Start with the assigned work

Start with the next action on your workspace home, or open Founders, Sessions or Conversations. An assigned founder's companion connects explicitly shared context with relevant OpenBuilder lessons and private preparation. Confirm the meeting arrangement; an assignment is not a booked session.

A separate helper assignment may appear under My support requests. For this kind of request, the helper accepts capacity and the founder separately approves access to the selected brief. Only then can the brief be reviewed and a substantive response saved. Decline if you cannot support it rather than accepting work you cannot follow through on.

Make your first contribution manageable

Agree the question, scope and next action before expanding the commitment. Read the mentor expectations and session guide to prepare a useful conversation that leaves the founder more capable of acting independently.

Keep the relationship organised

Use the workspace guide for shared milestones, actions, calendar, feedback, relationship history, contribution records and account preferences. Original bilingual templates and printable materials are in Downloads & sharing.