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FreshIdeas run an ongoing mentoring programme where businesswomen are matched with experienced business mentors who can offer advice, guidance and encouragement - meet some of our current mentors and mentees.


ANDREA COCKERTON AND NEEMA SHAH




MENTOR:   ANDREA COCKERTON
Founder - Mudhut  & Brick Handbag



Andrea told us she wanted to become a mentor because of the tremendous value she has found in the mentoring process – both in terms of mentoring entrepreneurs in the past and in terms of benefiting from talking to experienced mentors while developing her own businesses. 

What does Andrea think of her mentee:

“Neema has the zeal, energy and focus that gets young companies up and running, and it’s been great to work alongside her while she goes through the exciting stage of defining and mapping out her business.”

 
What advice would she give to others starting out:

“Two things really count when starting out – the first is an in-depth understanding of what your market needs, and the second is a balance of resilience & flexibility when crafting your product or ‘solution’ to meet that need…

the end product might be significantly different from your first ideas, but if you have the resilience to keep working at it and the flexibility to adapt, you’ll get there a hell of a lot more quickly.”



ANDREA'S MENTEE IS :  NEEMA SHAH

Business idea - Online store for Asian-inspired clothes and accessories

Neema decided to apply for a mentor because she wanted to develop her business idea with the support and fresh perspective of someone who really understood the challenges of starting a business.

She has been enjoying her mentoring experience with Andrea immensely.


Neema has said after her initial meetings with Andrea:

“The early days of launching a business can be incredibly exciting but also quite bewildering.  Andrea’s extensive experience working with startups has been invaluable during this process.  

Her objective point of view has also enabled me to think about options that I might not have considered otherwise.  By the end of this mentoring process I hope to have a clear business plan and vision that will enable me to launch my business later this year.”




For more information on taking part in our mentor programme, contact us at info@freshideasevents.com