BE A LEADER AMONG THE BEST
The Entrepreneurial Leadership Program provides deep training and mentorship for a select cohort of students to develop the functional, managerial, and leadership skills that differentiate the good from the great entrepreneurs. It equips some of the University of Michigan’s most driven minds with a rigorous experiential curriculum to lead them onto an entrepreneurial path during and after their college career. Students from all schools/colleges, academic programs, and years are eligible for the program.
The Mentor Matching Program recruits a diverse set of entrepreneurs, investors, and tech-focused business leaders to remotely mentor the current cohort of ELP students. Between January and April, mentor/mentee pairs participate in four, virtual, one-hour meetings focused on accomplishing entrepreneurial career goals designed by the ELP student.
ELP MENTORSHIP EVENTS
Recruitment
July – September
Recruitment
Entrepreneurial Leaders and Alumni are recruited as mentors for the upcoming ELP cohort.
October – November
New Cohort
New ELP Cohort is finalized.
January
Mixer & Matching
Mentor-Mentee Mixer and final matching.
January
First Meeting
Student develops 2-3 goals for the semester .
February
Second Meeting
March
Third Meeting
April
Fourth Meeting
May
Feedback
Students report feedback and start their summer experience.
program Q&As
When does the program Start?
We recruit mentors during the Fall semester, from late August to October. The ELP cohort students are recruited during the same period with the completed cohort announced before Thanksgiving. Mentors and mentees will be required to submit an interests form, attend an info session, and participate in the virtual mentor matching mixer which will occur between mid-November and late-December. The ELP program officially starts in January with mentor/mentee meetings running through April.
Additionally, you will be invited to participate in the student application assessment and interview process as an optional way to interact with the upcoming cohort of students. This process can be done remotely and will take place during October.
How will I be matched with an ELP Student
Based on the information from your interest form, the student’s intake form, and a ranked preference provided by you and the students we will suggest a match. If there are no objections, we will finalize the match. This process will be completed before the first week of December. It’s important to note that there is a chance that you will not be matched with a student if there are more mentors in the program than students.
When Will I know who I’m matched with?
Program staff will send an email introduction to all mentors and mentees notifying them of their match in early-December. The match pair are required to connect in early January to set-up a time to meet for their first meeting.
What do we work on over the course of the four months?
At the first meeting, the match pair will create 2-3 entrepreneurial career goals to work through during the program. Here is an example of a mentee and mentor goal.
Goal: I’d like to participate in the optiMize social challenge as a founder this summer, but am having difficulty figuring out what solution to pitch and what problem I’d like to solve.
The mentee will … (objectives)
Examine possible challenges that are important to the student by creating a mind map at an upcoming mentor match meeting
Compose 3 potential solutions to 3 challenges identified in mind map by brainstorming with mentor
Interview 5 people associated with the top problem and solution discovered to better understand what specific pain needs to be addressed
Complete optiMize social challenge application
The mentor will … (objectives)
Work with the mentee on creating a mind map of challenges that are important to them at an upcoming mentor match meeting
Share best practices and experiences on the process of ideation to support the mentee’s second goal
Potentially provide two personal contacts for the mentee to connect with regarding the challenges discussed previously
Debrief progress with mentee and assistant in optiMize social challenge application
Meet the Mentors
Tracey Warner Halama
She/Her/Hers
Former CEO Vital Proteins, Managing Partner, Creekside Ventures
Employer: Creekside Ventures
Matthew Gibson
He/Him/His
Financial Advisor, Vice President
Employer: Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
