Medeia Cohan is Programme Director at School for Creative Startups, “I
“Twenty years later, not too much has changed. I don’t need kissing advice anymore but my relationship with my sister is still very important to me. The big difference now is that I also seek advice from people outside my immediate family; I now look to a mentor for professional guidance.

Over the years, I have had several mentors and each has played a different role in my development as
a businesswoman. They are people, like my sister, who have already been through the challenges that await me and can advise me on how best to avoid their mistakes.
“Being an entrepreneur can be lonely and tough at times. The weight of your business sits squarely on your shoulders and no one else’s and frankly that’s a lot to handle some times. It’s important to find someone to help you navigate uncharted waters – someone who understands your business and your vision and has your best interests at heart. A mentor is someone with an external view that can help you make big decisions and sound ideas off. They are guides and advisors. They are supportive but honest and can make key introductions and open doors for you.
“Having experienced first-hand how empowering it can be to have a good business
guide, it was important to me to build this aspect of advising into the School for
help students realise their business
potential.” She firmly believes that little changes can massively affect a company’s
bottom line, making the difference between scraping by and empire-building. The school believes in the motivating powers of mentors, who they call Titans.
“When I was a little girl, my big sister Nancy was probably the most important person in my world. She did everything first and passed on her expert knowledge. She went into explicit detail about her first kiss so that I could avoid her mistakes (mainly, boys with braces).

“Twenty years later, not too much has changed. I don’t need kissing advice anymore but my relationship with my sister is still very important to me. The big difference now is
that I also seek advice from people outside
my immediate family; I now look to a mentor for professional guidance. Over the years,
I have had several mentors and each has played a different role in my development as
a businesswoman. They are people, like my sister, who have already been through the challenges that await me and can advise me on how best to avoid their mistakes.
“Being an entrepreneur can be lonely and tough at times. The weight of your business sits squarely on your shoulders and no one else’s and frankly that’s a lot to handle some times. It’s important to find someone to help you navigate uncharted waters – someone who understands your business and your vision and has your best interests at heart. A mentor is someone with an external view that can help you make big decisions and sound ideas off. They are guides and advisors. They are supportive but honest and can make key introductions and open doors for you.
“Having experienced first-hand how empowering it can be to have a good business guide, it was important to me to build this aspect of advising into the School for Creative Startups programme for my students. We call them the Titans of Industry. The Titans are a collection of professionals succeeding in, or supporting, the creative sector. They serve
as an advisory network to our students and have donated their time to share what they’ve learned, helping our emerging creative startups avoid pitfalls and skillfully face the challenges small businesses encounter.”

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