Mentors are crucial to new businesses. For entrepreneurs—young founders in particular—guidance is not only needed to avoid missteps and failures, but it’s also an important source of inspiration.
 

“CEOs should talk to each other about the kind of issues they face. We may not have a big, iconic kind of person who knows it all, but I think we can find other ways to fulfill those needs,”
Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group

 
In fact, Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group, credits his success to a mentor. The mentor was Savio Kwan, Alibaba’s former COO and in the words of Tsai,“The super coach who knew it all.”Kwan has notably transformed the way that Alibaba does business to this day.
 
But not every company can come across a super coach, Tsai concedes. And that’s just fine. Tsai encourages founders to talk to everyone that they can in similar positions in order to find out how they deal with different aspects of business: whether it’s HR, fundraising, products or marketing.
 
“I don't think one single person will have all the answers,”Tsai says.“In fact, the most rewarding thing we can have is access to a diversity of perspectives.”In Hong Kong, Tsai adds, there is a critical mass of successful entrepreneurs to create a network and find just that kind of mentorship.
 
“CEOs should talk to each other about the kind of issues they face. We may not have a big, iconic kind of person who knows it all, but I think we can find other ways to fulfill those needs,”Tsai says.
 

“I’ve taken the approach that you can learn from anyone, whether it’s family, friends, clients or experts,”
Peggy Choi, Co-founder and CEO of LYNK

 
Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) aims to do exactly this with its Meet the Mentors program, which was launched this year. AEF is helping to create networks for startups by connecting them to a diverse range of business leaders and their expertise by identifying the common needs of its portfolio companies. The program groups two to three startups together and aligns them with two mentors during a meeting where they can network to discuss solutions and get advice.
 
“Some of our portfolio companies, having been invested in by AEF for a couple of years, have grown from ‘startups’ to ‘scale-ups,’”says Cindy Chow, the Executive Director of AEF. “It’s essential for them to build not only a sustainable business model but also a proper business infrastructure.”
 
She adds that scaling up brings new challenges and opportunities. While startups have an edge on big businesses when it comes to innovation, they often need advice on strategic direction and how to better structure the business. 
 
“We’re building a solid corporate network connecting startups with established business leaders who are passionate about helping startups flourish,”she says.“They have inspirational advice and they’re well-connected individuals who’ve amassed a vast network that can be of great value to startup founders.”
 

“Having a mentor who charted a path inspired me to get out there and start a business.”
Jin Chow, Co-founder and COO of Polygence

 
Savio Kwan—Tsai’s first “super coach” mentor at Alibaba—is a good example. Kwan also serves at AEF as an independent director and he’s given key advice to notably successful startups including Aqumon, GoGoX and Prenetics, helping them find their footing through his connections and guidance.
 
For Peggy Choi, Co-founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based LYNK, the importance of mentorship certainly rings true—she attributes her success to not only dozens of her own local peers but also to her closest friends and family. The former finance banker and investor has run LYNK, a global knowledge sharing platform disrupting the way business decisions are made, since 2015.
 
“I’ve taken the approach that you can learn from anyone, whether it’s family, friends, clients or experts,”Choi says.“As a founder, you’ve got to be open and listen.”
 
Entrepreneur Jin Chow is in the business of mentors herself. Based in Stanford, Chow is the Co-founder and COO of Polygence: a selective online academy pairing students with mentors from top universities around the word.
 
For Chow, it wasn’t a“super coach”figure that galvanized her into action—more simply, it was someone empathetic and involved.
 
In eight grade, Chow connected to a teacher who recognized her talents early on and worked hard to cultivate her intellectual curiosity. Eventually, Chow’s teacher decided to branch out and founded her own educational startup. Chow came onboard as an intern and it ignited the spark that would push her towards starting Polygence.
 
“She was one of the most wonderful people who came into my life,” she said. “Having a mentor who charted a path inspired me to get out there and start a business.”