Entrepreneurs value support from skilled professionals through avenues such as strong networks, cooperative platforms, co-working hubs, and high-quality incubators and accelerators. Government should support the growth and development of those methods and others to connect entrepreneurs with helpful people and tools. Policymakers should:

• Incentivize local mentor resource partners – both nonprofit and governmental – in funding packages intended to increase the number of underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Supporting Evidence

• Individuals with a mentor are five times more likely to say they are planning to start a business than those who do not have a mentor.
• Business owners who have more hours of mentorship report more revenue and employment growth than business owners with fewer hours.
• The introduction of accelerators to a region has a significant impact on the number of early-stage deals for new businesses, and these deals are driven primarily by the emergence of local, new venture capital firms.