Prepare, run and follow up a mentor session

A useful session helps a founder make a better decision and take one clear next step. Prepare around the work they choose to share.

Before you meet

Open Sessions for confirmed bookings, or Founders for an assigned relationship. An assignment or session log does not schedule a meeting. Manage incoming requests and available times in Bookings & availability.

Choose Prepare on a confirmed booking to save preparation for that particular session. Opening a founder directly uses relationship preparation instead. The two records stay separate.

Your companion shows a founder-reviewed snapshot: selected venture context, current action, up to three evidence excerpts and an optional learning topic. It is dated; ask what changed since it was shared. No snapshot means nothing is currently shared, not that the founder is behind.

The companion suggests at most two OpenBuilder topics using the shared learning topic, question and stage. A shared lesson can show its objective, concepts, expected evidence, questions and common mistakes. Suggested refreshers are labelled separately. You do not have to complete a founder's courses.

Save your preparation

Write the decision to work on, choose useful questions and use the preparation checklist. Save preparation keeps this private mentor record in your account. Device drafts are kept for that account when browser storage is available; save before moving to another device.

Preparation notes and reflections are private mentor records. Shared session recaps belong in Session history, and messages belong in Conversation. Existing session-log notes and conversation records can be read by the founder and authorised administrators; do not treat those as private notes.

Run a focused conversation

1. Ask what would make the session useful today.
2. Separate observations, assumptions and interpretations.
3. Explore the founder's options before offering your own experience.
4. Agree one useful action, its owner, and the evidence to look for.
5. Confirm when and how you will review what happened.

The Mentor playbook includes short agendas, question prompts, feedback practice, cases and follow-up guides. Start with the four essentials before your first session. Review ticks are personal preparation records, not certification.

Record and follow up

Record a session outcome after the meeting. Use an ended confirmed booking when one exists, or record an unscheduled session. Link an existing log if you already recorded it. Completed sessions count toward self-reported contribution hours; missed and cancelled sessions do not. Both partners can leave session feedback. Historical future-dated logs are not treated as completed meetings.

Use the founder’s shared plan to propose actions and track agreed milestones. Your partner accepts actions proposed for them. See the workspace guide for the calendar, relationship history and completion workflow.

In private preparation, open After the session to reflect and set your own follow-up date. The reminder appears in your mentor workspace. It does not email anyone, create a calendar event or assign work to the founder. Clear the date and save when done.

Both participants can use their relationship conversation to send a recap or follow-up. Founders find this under Founder workspace → Prepare with your mentor; mentors can open Messages. Conversations keep saved history and unread counts, and refresh while the page is active and connected. Use Refresh if needed. A saved message confirms storage, not that your partner has read or acted on it. New-message alerts use the existing notification system. Email is available only when delivery has been enabled and your preferences allow it; a preference alone does not guarantee delivery.

Use the conversation controls to mute alerts, block further messages or report a message. Reporting is separate from blocking. Reports are handled through restricted safety review; ordinary administrators do not receive unrestricted conversation access. Keep sensitive disclosures and unnecessary customer information out of a routine recap.

Share context as a founder

Open Founder workspace → Prepare with your mentor. Select the assigned mentor and the context to include. Preview the exact snapshot, confirm your consent, then choose Share this snapshot. Later edits to your workspace remain private until you review and share an update.

Stop sharing this snapshot removes access to the stored snapshot. It cannot recall information someone already read or copied. Ending or reassigning the relationship clears the old sharing permission.

For an evidence support brief

A helper responding to a support brief still uses the support request response controls. Accepting capacity and the founder granting access remain separate actions. This workflow is preserved alongside the mentor companion.

For assignment issues or questions outside your competence, use mentor support. Seek qualified specialist input when appropriate.