ASIAN AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Mentorship Program

by admin on March 29, 2011

AABDC is honored to be partnering with Columbia Business School’s Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center to help expand their mentoring programs for their MBA students and alumni entrepreneurs. We told them about our amazing Outstanding 50 Asian American Business Award recipients and the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center would like to invite you to consider becoming a mentor this summer!

As a successful entrepreneur, you have a lot to offer these MBA students and in return you will:

Raise your professional profile
Gain exposure to fresh new talent, technologies, energy and ideas
Improve leadership, coaching, problem-solving, management skills
Learn about the latest trends being used by today’s students and young professionals
Be exposed to new and diverse thoughts, styles, personalities and cultures
Give back to your profession/industry
Make a difference in someone else’s life; and feel great about it

See the attached information sheet for more details about the sounding board mentoring programs and how apply to become a mentor.

About The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School
Building on a rich tradition of teaching and research in the field of entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School established The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center (The Lang Center) in 1996 with a gift from Eugene M. Lang, MS ’40. A member of the Columbia Business School Board of Overseers, Mr. Lang is both a successful entrepreneur and a distinguished philanthropist.

The mission of The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center is to instill entrepreneurial thinking in all Columbia Business School students and to create a community of business practitioners with a lifelong commitment to achieving social and economic progress through entrepreneurship.

Mentorship Information:

Listen and Give Feedback to MBA Students Who Have Serious Entrepreneurial Business Ideas

The Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) and The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School invite you to serve as a mentor to aspiring and innovative Columbia MBA student and alumni entrepreneurs.

The partnership offers AABDC Outstanding 50 Award recipients two tracks of involvement:

1) Serve as an Entrepreneurial Sounding Board Practitioner
The Entrepreneurial Sounding Board is an opportunity for MBA students and alumni to schedule 30 minute confidential 1:1 meetings with Center faculty and practitioners to discuss their own entrepreneurial ideas and perceived business opportunities.

As a practitioner, you will be tasked with providing advice, support and access to additional resources as needed to help advance an entrepreneur’s venture. Summer sessions for The Entrepreneurial Sounding Board will run from mid June through July. (This program is offered throughout the entire year with fall sessions running mid September through mid December and spring February through May.)

Time Commitment: Your commitment to this program must be reserved in advance. Typically, practitioners donate one to three dates per semester with at least a two hour timeframe (for example: June 14, 2-4pm).

Sessions can be done over the phone or in a conference room that can be reserved for you on the Columbia University campus. There is no commitment to signed-up students/alumni beyond the scheduled session.

2) Serve as a Mentor to the Columbia Business School Entrepreneurial Career Summer Program
The Columbia Business School Entrepreneurial Career Summer Program is designed to support students as they pursue entrepreneurial careers, whether they plan to launch their own ventures or pursue an entrepreneurial start-up after graduation.

This summer, a class of 20 students working on their own entrepreneurial ventures has been selected. They represent a variety of industries and will begin meeting as a group starting in June. A list of student ventures with potential mentor requests will be made available.

Time Commitment: Mentors will be appointed to a student entrepreneur, as requested, to help develop their plan throughout the summer months (June-August). Mentors may continue the relationship with their mentee if desired.

TO APPLY
Qualifying practitioners/mentors must meet the following criteria:

Applicants must have at least:
6-10 years of business and/or entrepreneurial experience to serve as a Sounding Board practitioner (preferably with a key area of expertise relevant to an entrepreneur)
10+ years of business and/or entrepreneurial experience to serve as a Summer Program Mentor
Applicants must possess strong listening skills and be able to articulate orally
Applicants must be dedicated to sustaining the relationship with the mentee by keeping appointments, respecting confidentiality, providing guidance and offering resources to the mentee
Applicants must have practical problem-solving skills and ability to suggest options and alternatives
Applicants must be able to assist in the development of business plans and suggest steps towards implementing business concepts

To apply to one or both programs, please submit your one-page bio to Mayra Reyes, Associate Director of Administration, The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center and Media Program, Columbia Business School Tel: 212 854 4225 Cell: 646 300 0925 Fax: 212 854 3486 mr2017@columbia.edu

About The Asian American Business Development Center
The Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) was established in New York City in 1994 with a mission to assist Asian American businesses strengthen their capacities to compete in the mainstream marketplace, to expand business opportunities and to promote greater recognition of Asian American businesses’ contributions to the general economy.

Over the years, AABDC has created a significant presence within the Asian American business community in the U.S., and following the global economy, has established a credible position as a middleman introducing business opportunities between China and New York.