The Buckeye Venture Mentoring Service (BVMS) supports entrepreneurial activity within the Ohio State community by matching experienced business leaders who volunteer their time and talent to counsel emerging entrepreneurs. Built upon the prestigious Venture Mentoring Service hosted at MIT, BVMS is based on the belief that a fledgling business is far more likely to thrive when an entrepreneur can draw upon the advice and guidance of a group of mentors with proven skill and experience.
BVMS provides an educational support system for all Ohio State-affiliated entrepreneurs—including students, alumni, faculty, staff and licensees. Mentors are carefully selected based on their relevant experience and enthusiasm and matched to mentees based on needs, experience and interests.
Ventures
Experienced professionals provide guidance and mentorship for newer entrepreneurs and their ventures. Each mentoring team includes three to four mentors with expertise in a variety of subject areas to provide guidance through regular, formal mentoring sessions and occasional ad hoc advice.
Benefits for ventures participating in the program include:
- Free, monthly support service for Ohio State-affiliated ventures
- Objective, third-party mentorship from a team of 3-4 highly successful and experienced professionals from startups and corporate America
- Direct guidance on topics like fundraising, sales, marketing, supply chain and scaling
Participating ventures should:
- Be an Ohio State student, alumni, faculty member or technology licensor leading, or thinking about leading, a venture
- Be open to guidance from highly experienced professionals
- Commit to 1.5 hours of mentoring each month, plus necessary pre-work and follow-up
- Have a passion to support Ohio State and advance its educational mission
Mentors
Teams of three to four mentors from various backgrounds are formed to provide guidance for less experienced entrepreneurs through regular, formal mentoring sessions and occasional ad hoc consultation. The mentors are carefully matched with ventures based on experience and expertise.
Benefits for mentors participating in the program include:
- Monthly mentor-only meetups for networking and new venture selection
- Engagement with a cross-section of other highly experienced, successful mentors
- Frictionless means to connect with Ohio State and advance innovative new companies
Participating mentors should be willing to:
- Commit to 1-2 days of aggregated participation each month through 90-minute mentoring sessions with 2-4 new ventures
- Attend monthly luncheons to learn about new ventures
- Take a genuine interest in Buckeye innovators and their success
- Have a passion to support Ohio State and advance its land-grant and educational mission
If interested, contact Lauryn Betterton.
