My meeting with Aaron Mclean went well. I presented the first version of the mentoring system to him and he provided feedback and filled in missing information about how the match making system could actually work. I took my notes from the meeting and created a second visual showing the complexity of the mentoring system. I've realized that the Request for Mentoring form is a small piece of the puzzle. The following visual is still a rough sketch, it's missing a few more pieces: the business readiness intake and the follow-up form still need to be designed. The match making system will need front-end mock-ups and an architectural sketch of the back-end system that will make everything electronic.
Our discussion also went over what the business readiness intake would look like and how to measure the efficacy of a mentoring conversation. I learned that the business readiness intake is dependent on the entrepreneur's level of commitment and passion for the business, but will also be greatly influenced by their stage in life. The entrepreneurs life stage is determined by whether they're in college, graduated, married, single, children, siblings nearby, etc. All these social pieces of information reveals the entrepreneurs competing commitments, responsibilities, available social capital, and safety nets. To measure the efficacy of a mentoring conversation, I learned, is based on asking questions during the mentoring conversation to make sure the mentee is following. From observing mentoring conversations, this seems to be true.
Update: Another key element I've finally gotten around to designing is the follow-up section, which I'm currently calling the Mentoring Progress Report.
More to come...
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