Featured in 83Degrees – Trep Talks: Mentors play key role in business success

A mentor — or multiple mentors — are key to a business’ success, but they are not always easy to come by. “You can’t just go to a couple events,” explains Linda Olson, President of Tampa Bay WaVE, a grassroots nonprofit supporting tech startups. “You really need to take it seriously. You really need to invest in finding a mentor. You’re going to have to kiss a lot of frogs.” “It is a lot like dating,” agrees Valerie Landrio McDevitt, Associate VP of Technology Transfer and Business Partnerships at the Tampa-based University of South Florida. “For us it really is finding that right match.” Rakefet Bachur, Executive Director of Marketing and the American-Israeli Liaison for the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator in West Tampa, says FIBA has been mentoring remotely with its Israeli businesses. “We only required them to come to Tampa twice. We knew that they’re running a business; they’re a critical part of their business,” she explains. “We really didn’t think it would be conducive to tear them apart from their environment and bring them here to Tampa.” To read the full story about mentorship by 83Degrees, visit the website.

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