Success doesn’t come with an easy-to-follow formula, but we can all agree that having someone to show you the ropes is always a big help. In fact, according to a recent LinkedIn study, 82% of women believe that having a mentor is an asset. Yet, 19% of women have never had a mentor, and about half of them say it’s because they’ve never met someone that felt like a good fit. Enter Dave Wilkin’s innovative networking and mentorship platform, Ten Thousand Coffees.
Wilkin turned the popular networking tactic of asking professionals you admire to chat over coffee into a platform that eases the nerve-wracking process of connecting with appropriate mentors. Individuals can sign up via their LinkedIn account or create a profile on the site, join a community of thousands of members, and be matched to mentors in their field of interest.
The platform has also partnered with companies — including TD Bank, Lean In, PepsiCo, United Way and several universities across North America — allowing them to facilitate their own internal mentorship programs. Since its launch in January 2014, Ten Thousand Coffees has helped students, recent graduates and young professionals around the world connect with experts and CEOs from more than 40 industries over cups of coffee or Skype calls. This year alone, they’ve made more than 250,000 meetings possible.
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