collage of girls giving a team presentation, a male speaker, and group of girls smiling after a presentation

Mentoring the UK's next generation of entrepreneurs

We’re changing the game of traditional mentoring. The Mentorpreneurship programme aims to inspire and challenge our participants through exciting live events, working with schools directly and providing the best resources to inspire entrepreneurial thinking.

Enriching ambition with London School of Economics Generate

Mentorpreneurship is a partnership we have launched with London School of Economics (LSE) Generate to help build socially conscious businesses and spark entrepreneurial thinking through continuous mentoring.

Mentoring driven by successful entrepreneurs

Our founders, Rishi and Joel, are proud LSE alumni and successful entrepreneurs. Having experienced the many benefits of mentoring themselves, they’re passionate about sharing their knowledge and experience with the entrepreneurs of the future.

Mentoring and having mentors has been an essential part of the development of so many of us here at OakNorth. Through this programme, we want to continue inspiring students and alumni to start and scale businesses that have a positive impact on society, and equip them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to mentor future generations of entrepreneurs who will do the same.

Rishi Khosla, Co-founder & CEO of OakNorth, and LSE alumni

2300

participants in the programme

1000 +

university students and alumni

700

industry professionals and entrepreneurs

Two female students laughing and walking

400 +

school students

17

schools and academies

Mentorpreneurship in numbers

We launched the Mentorpreneurship programme in August 2021. Since then, we’ve gone on to run a diverse mix of events, a podcast, and audio series making a tangible impact on thousands of students, schools and professionals.

Benefits for all participants

Preparing the entrepreneurs of the future is at the heart of the Mentorpreneurship programme. It sets out to increase students’ confidence through immersive interactive events that encourage mentees to develop their own business mindsets, as well as exposing them to inspiring mentors with a wealth of knowledge to pass on.

The programme allowed me to have a better understanding of how to run a business, showed me the importance of boosting team morale, and how to designate different roles equally to everyone.

School student ,

Truly everything I've been looking for these past five years in the space of women's entrepreneurship.

LSE alumni,

We learned how to present a pitch tailored to a specific audience and build our confidence especially in areas like public speaking which are essential as an entrepreneur. Overall, the day was fantastic, a truly memorable and enticing experience!

School student,

Mentoring has been core to my personal development as well as the progression of my start-up. Without the advice and guidance from my mentors, I think I’d still be going around in circles rather than feeling confident in giving it a go and making it the best I can make it.

Student founder ,

I have enjoyed the boot camp days especially as the partnerships and the resources help my team and I to understand the fundamental concepts of pitching and business.

School student ,

A fresh approach to mentoring

We don’t believe in ‘top down’ mentorship, but that everyone has something to contribute and something to learn regardless of their background. We truly believe that the key to being a successful entrepreneur is in the connection with others who build that journey next to you.

Shaping meaningful connections

Many of the great resources that are part of the Mentorpreneurship programme can be accessed on the app.

On the app, students can connect and chat with fellow LSE alumni as well as find mentors based on their interests and expertise – making it easy to build lasting connections and stay in touch. And within the LSE Generator app it’s also easy to find the details of upcoming events and access resources and inspirational content.

Growing in confidence and giving back

Mentorpreneurship benefits all participants – whether they’re receiving excellent mentoring to navigate new professional experiences, or passing on knowledge to the next generation and developing their leadership and communication skills.

Want to get involved? Reach out to Alice Eddie at [email protected] for more details.

What the future looks like

Later this summer we’ll be launching our Mentorship Certificate, which will provide individuals and organisations with insight and training on the values of mentorship and the tools to make it a success.

We’ll be inviting companies to participate in this initiative by working with us to extend the values of mentorship among their employees. Mentorship has been seen to enhance employee engagement, increase work satisfaction and contribute to organisational collegiality and the development of applicable skill sets.