Mentorship for entrepreneurs

Develop your full entrepreneurship potential

Are you facing a complex situation and questioning what choice to make? Would you like to take a step back to better plan the next stages in the growth of your business? Are you looking to break the isolation, find support and encouragement? The mentors of Sherbrooke Innopole will provide you with access to their varied experiences.

Discover our mentors
(French)

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Become a MENTEE

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Become a MENTOR

Double your chances of success through mentorship!

70% of mentored small business owners make it past the critical five-year mark
(twice as many as their non-mentored peers).

Source: Réseau Mentorat

Become a mentee

You are eligible for entrepreneur mentoring if your company is located in the City of Sherbrooke and you have been in business for at least one year and have employees.

Two complementary types of mentorship are offered to entrepreneurs:

Individual mentorship

Perhaps you are looking to benefit from a mentor’s experience to validate certain strategic choices, to step back and take stock of things, or simply to get a bit of a boost to go beyond your limitations? Individual mentorship will enable you to develop a trusting relationship over time, which will help you develop your full entrepreneurship potential.

During an assessment meeting, a mentor is selected by the mentee, after consideration of the coordinator’s recommendations. An initial exploratory meeting between the mentee and the mentor provides an opportunity to check the “chemistry” and confirm the mentorship agreement. The mentoring relationship then starts and lasts on average two years – but may last up to 5 or 6 years. Monthly meetings are recommended.

Cost: Preauthorized monthly payments of $50.

Group mentorship

Share your challenges, questions, your potential solutions and strategies with entrepreneurs experiencing challenges similar to your own is what the group mentorship program offers entrepreneurs.

  • Cohort of from 4 to 8 entrepreneurs
  • 8 to 10 monthly meetings led by mentors
  • Themes chosen by participants, focused on developing their entrepreneurship potential.

Cost: $300 for a full group mentorship cycle

>> Introducing the program (French)

The role of a mentor

In concrete terms, a mentor:

  • Helps break the isolation often felt by entrepreneurs
  • Listens and questions
  • Re-frames the problems experienced
  • Helps identify potential solutions
  • Encourages and motivates
  • Shares its critical thinking skills
  • Provides feedback on the entrepreneur’s attitudes
  • Shares their experience in real-life situations
  • Respects the confidentiality of discussions

The mentor does not:

  • Help the mentored entrepreneur manage his company
  • Act as a consultant or expert in production, marketing, distribution, accounting, or any other area nor provide customized management solutions, advice, or recommendations
  • Dictate to the mentored entrepreneur the procedure to follow
  • Establish a business relationship (client, supplier, or partner) with their mentee
  • Refer their mentee to its network of contacts
  • Receive payment for his services

Membre du Réseau Mentorat

Member of Réseau Mentorat

Contact your expert

Michelle Dallaire

Business Mentoring Coordinator

Sherbrooke Innopole’s mandate ended on March 31, 2024. We invite you to contact Entreprendre Sherbrooke or the Service du développement économique of the Ville de Sherbrooke for further services.
Thank you to all Sherbrooke industrial and technological businesses, as well as to all our partners for the trust granted since 2009!