Mentorship Experience as an ICM Mosaic Fellow

My summer mentor was one of the many highlights of my summer as an Impact Capital Manager Mosaic Fellow.

The Impact Capital Managers team were incredible in facilitating a survey that helped match me to a mentor in my area of interest. Once the survey and matching across all the Mosaic Fellows was complete, I was assigned my mentor at the start of summer. By the end of the summer, I met with my mentor four times.

The first meeting with my mentor jumped quickly from introductions to specific questions about venture capital. Having had experience in venture capital prior to my summer internship, I was able to dive right in with targeted questions, and my mentor (very kindly) fielded every one during our very first session.

Given that we had so much to discuss during our first session, I scheduled another session with my mentor a few weeks later to continue our conversation. I sent many questions ahead of time, and my mentor had reviewed them and was ready to answer them. However, the the day before our meeting, I had had an initial feedback session with my host fund. Given this meeting, during the session with my mentor, we pivoted topics instead to discuss the feedback and how best to grow during the second half of my internship.

My mentor and I unfortunately lived on opposite coasts, but during the summer, I knew I would be traveling to San Francisco. Despite my travel falling near the July 4 holiday, my mentor was kind enough to meet up in person with me for our third meeting, during which we chatted about everything from family to start-ups of interest.  

In my final meeting with my mentor, we discussed overall reflections about the summer and future career planning. One of my key questions about the venture capital space was about maternity policies and norms, especially given current statistics on the percentage of women in venture capital. My mentor was able to support me completely and provide a report that included data on relevant maternity and diversity, equity, and inclusion topics.

In sum, I was so grateful to be a part of the ICM community and have such an incredible mentor throughout my summer experience!