HOLLY TUCKER
Co-founder of notonthehighstreet.com, Holly Tucker, was searching for a mentor who shared her vision for the company. In NOTHS board member Mark Esiri, she found support and encouragement, as well as invaluable advice from someone with a very different, but complementary, set of skills to her own.
Holly recommends that you: “Define what type of help you’re looking for in a mentor.
Are you looking for someone with similar skills or someone with a very different skill set who can coach you? It’s important to know what you want to get out of the relationship before entering into it. Discuss and agree upon
the goals of the relationship and what you, personally, are doing to make it a successful venture. Go back to these goals from time to time to ensure the relationship is working, remember – you can always readjust.
“Everyone with hopes of having a business should find a mentor who understands their ideas and is willing to help them get there. Outside of our programme there are lots of mentor matching schemes, but I personally think it must be an organic process between two consenting adults who are keen to work together to make great things happen. When you stop and think about it, you may have someone in your life filling this role already.”

NIKKI TIBBLES
Gifted florist Nikki Tibbles was keen to join the School for Creative Startups as a Titan of Industry because she knew what it was like to benefit from the knowledge of a dedicated mentor first-hand, Nikki wanted to repay the debt by passing on what she has learnt.
“Fashion designer Betty Jackson is my mentor, she is someone who I met over 18 years ago when I started doing the flowers for her shop and her fashion shows. From there it developed into an amazing friendship. She is someone who I have a massive amount of respect for and who I always go to for advice, whether it’s about relationships, running of the shops or even flowers. I respect her for many reasons, but her amazing success in business and her longevity in her industry is really inspiring.”

ROSIE WOLFENDEN
When Rosie Wolfenden set out to start Tatty Devine with her partner Harriet Vine, she quickly realised that two creative partners is better than one, but she still needed some industry support to skillfully start-up her business and get it moving on the right track.
“When we opened our shop on Brick Lane we met Thelma and Paul from Bernstock Speirs. They have been in business for 30 years and we have learnt so much from them. My relationship
with Thelma and Paul is so special as we have a strong friendship and understanding. Because we are in similar businesses we can have excited, heated and in-depth conversations about things
you could never discuss with others. We can discuss trade shows, manufacturers, customers, competitors, employees, etc. These conversations are so useful as they are explorations of opinions and attitudes and are often the best way to hatch ideas and strategies.”

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