I think it's more than just correlation. Mentors are usually well-connected people that can remove roadblocks and help in more ways than simple mentoring. The v

I think it's more than just correlation. Mentors are usually well-connected people that can remove roadblocks and help in more ways than simple mentoring. The valley is incestuous and it's difficult to succeed as an outsider. When I joined my current company, the CEO was mentored by an extremely well-connected individual. He'd previously been a CEO of a large Silicon Valley company and was on the board of at least one company that was considerably larger. While both our CEO and him would likely say that the arrangement was solely for mentoring, the end result was that we were acquired by the company that the mentor had formerly led. What started as partnership talks, facilitated by the mentor, quickly turned into M&A. Much like a good VC will provide much more than money, a good mentor will provide much more than just simple coaching. Very few companies succeed in a vacuum, they need the right doors opened for them at the right times. Having the right connections opens those doors.