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Ask HN: Mentors and Mentoring

3 points by aj 16y ago

I'm just starting out on a project on my own but in an area I have little knowledge of. So having a mentor would help me tremendously in navigating the treacherous waters of getting an independent project off the ground and achieving some measure of success. However, I'm not sure of the protocols of taking up a mentor and the entire mentoring process. What is it that the mentors hope to achieve in return? Is it the satisfaction of teaching the ropes to a newbie, some form of monetary compensation or perhaps some amount of stake in the venture/project should it succeed? Edit: Also pointers to how the mentoring process works would be really helpful. i.e. How does the interaction take place, to what extent should one rely on the mentor and even follow the advice when viewpoints differ on say a particular point.

iworkforthem 16y ago
I reckon you should start hacking on your project first, once you have a working prototype, come back to HN & do a ASK HN thread. Follow-up in the replies that you are seeking a mentor. It will convert better. See it this way, I am a potential hacker, here's what I made. Help! I need advice. The take-up will be much better.
- aj 16y ago
  Agreed. However, in my case, I need help with the business/commercial aspect of the project than the technical/implementation. I have actually started working on the project along with a friend and are a couple of weeks away from stage 1 (alpha 1 I suppose) so wanted to get a head start on the other aspects.
  - iworkforthem 16y ago
    What do you mean by the commercial/business aspect of the project? Are you talking about how the project can be monetized? If that's what you are concerned, I dun think you should worried too much. Look at twitter. :P How are they making money? Instead if you have a viable product that solve some problems for your users, there are quite a few ways to make money from it. I.E. paid subscription, sell licenses, white label, sell the whole company, etc...
niccolop 16y ago
Tell us a little about the project and perhaps we can recommend someone/something.

3 points by aj 16y ago

iworkforthem 16y ago

I reckon you should start hacking on your project first, once you have a working prototype, come back to HN & do a ASK HN thread. Follow-up in the replies that you are seeking a mentor. It will convert better. See it this way, I am a potential hacker, here's what I made. Help! I need advice. The take-up will be much better.

aj 16y ago
Agreed. However, in my case, I need help with the business/commercial aspect of the project than the technical/implementation. I have actually started working on the project along with a friend and are a couple of weeks away from stage 1 (alpha 1 I suppose) so wanted to get a head start on the other aspects.
- iworkforthem 16y ago
  What do you mean by the commercial/business aspect of the project? Are you talking about how the project can be monetized? If that's what you are concerned, I dun think you should worried too much. Look at twitter. :P How are they making money? Instead if you have a viable product that solve some problems for your users, there are quite a few ways to make money from it. I.E. paid subscription, sell licenses, white label, sell the whole company, etc...

niccolop 16y ago

Tell us a little about the project and perhaps we can recommend someone/something.