What It’s Really Like to Have a Mentor (And How to Make the Most of It)
At some point, most student founders hear the same advice: find a mentor. But what that actually looks like is often unclear. Is it to have someone who can answer all your questions? Or tell you what to do? Someone who supposedly can open their master guidebook for you to peep inside?
Not really. If anything, having a mentor looks a lot less structured and a lot more human than people expect.
When Jesse Casters — founder of Dumari and DINAO — began mentoring students after AwardX, a global youth entrepreneurship competition held by LaunchX, it wasn’t through a formal curriculum. It simply began at one hour a month where he and his mentees had honest conversations about where the mentees were in life, what they were building, and what challenges they were facing.
Here’s what we think it means to have a mentor walk alongside you, and in return, what it means to be a mentee.
The role of a mentor is not to lead
A good mentor doesn’t try to lead your path for you. They instead help you move forward on your own. As Jesse puts it, “it’s your life, it’s your vision… how can I serve you from beneath?” Rather than shaping you into a certain type of founder or imposing a “right way” of doing things, mentorship becomes about helping young founders think more clearly, see blind spots, and make better decisions. The goal is to avoid dependency and create autonomy, building your ability to navigate uncertainty on your own.
You still have to do the work
At the same time, having a mentor doesn’t mean things suddenly become easier. At the end of the day, you’re still the one doing the work, making decisions, and figuring things out in real time. What mentorship offers is perspective. The students Jesse worked with were already building, experimenting, and trying and this is what made the relationship work. Mentorship is most valuable when you come into it actively engaged and not passively waiting.
You talk more about just your idea
What starts as advice on your project or business idea can naturally extend into bigger life questions. What you want to do next, what decisions you’re weighing, or how you think about your future. In Jesse’s case with his mentee Axel, a conversation about Axel's gap year led to an internship opportunity at Jesse’s foundation. These outcomes aren’t usually planned from the beginning, but they emerge from consistent, honest conversations over time.
You learn to balance purpose and reality
For many student founders, especially those working on impact-driven ideas, mentorship also becomes a space to understand sustainability. There is often a tension between wanting to do something meaningful and figuring out how to make it financially viable. Jesse emphasizes that making a profit is not inherently negative; it depends on the intention behind it. A business that serves others still needs to sustain itself, and learning how to balance purpose with a for-profit engine is a critical step in building something that lasts. This is where having a mentor with real-world experience really benefits, as they can help put your heart in the right direction.
How to get the most out of a mentor
Not all mentor–mentee relationships start in a formal way. Many develop naturally through shared interests, conversations, or mutual respect. In Jesse’s experience, what drew him to mentor certain students was their drive and the sincerity of their intentions. These young founders weren’t building for quick gains, but because they genuinely wanted to create something meaningful. That foundation often determines how much value both sides get from the relationship.
Making the most of a mentor, at the end of the day, really is about showing up ready to put in the work. It means being open about what you don’t know, asking real questions, and sharing the challenges you’re actually facing. A mentor can guide, challenge, and support you, but they cannot replace the work you need to do. Mentorship works best when it helps you develop your own direction, instead of following someone else’s.
About Jesse Casters
Jesse Casters started his entrepreneurial journey at 17, fixing and refurbishing iPhones before building a franchise network around it. What began as a practical business quickly evolved into something more intentional, after a shift away from what he describes as a “self-serving” mindset toward building in service of others.
He went on to found the Numari Foundation, with the goal of bridging the gap between those who have and those who need across Africa. That work has since expanded into a broader social impact group, including a consultancy, a cooperative supporting changemakers, and DINAO, a social impact investment company focused on unlocking opportunity in underserved regions.
