Mentor Hours

Meet the minds behind the unicorns and get advice from people who’ve done it all before. Mentor Hours connects rising startups with established experts for 45-minute meetings.

Please note that only startups participating in the Web Summit startup programme, ALPHA, are eligible for Mentor Hours.

Applications for our startup programme at Web Summit 2024 are now open. Join us in Lisbon this November.

What is Mentor Hours?

Mentor Hours is a series of pre-scheduled, 45-minute meetings between our high-level attendees and startups.

Mentor Hours has four distinct tracks: lead, engage, build and grow. Each track has a specific focus and mentors with relevant expertise to ensure you discuss the issues most important to your startup.

Mentors spend 45 minutes coaching startups in a group session. This mix of backgrounds means the session will be shaped by individual and collective experiences in the startup community.

Lead

Master the art of leadership, strategy, entrepreneurship and hiring. Our attending CEOs and managing directors will share their experience on enhancing leadership capabilities while optimising your team’s personal growth and company strategy.

Engage

Learn how to tell your story to the world. Our attending brand experts will share their personal experience on marketing, brand identity, social engagement and public relations. This is your chance to ask questions you can’t ask the media or your customers.

Build

Learn more about product development, software, hardware, big data, UI, UX or front/back-end development. Our attending engineers, data scientists and product designers will share their extensive personal experience on all things tech.

Grow

Raising capital or just need financial guidance? Quiz our attending investors and top-level fund managers on the do’s and don’ts of financial management, or ask your burning questions about negotiating investment or applying for a business loan.

Meet some of the mentors who joined us at Web Summit 2023

Marlies Lukkes
Marlies Lukkes
Commercial partnership manager / GamechangerShell
Ivan  Didus
Ivan Didus
Investment directorNew Ventures | inDrive
Veronica Fuerte
Veronica Fuerte
Founder & CEOHey
Andri Rabetanety
Andri Rabetanety
COO1inch Network
Olivia Morley
Olivia Morley
Agencies ReporterAdweek
Dr Abdalla Kablan
Dr Abdalla Kablan
Founding PartnerDELTA Wealth Partners
Rita Vilas-Boas
Rita Vilas-Boas
Angel InvestorRita VB
Ryan Youhan
Ryan Youhan
Emerging Growth PracticeKPMG
Maya Moufarek
Maya Moufarek
FounderMarketing Cube
Nuno Mateus-Coelho
Nuno Mateus-Coelho
Contributor & Cyber Security SpeakerCNN Portugal
Helga Valfells
Helga Valfells
Founding and Managing PartnerCrowberry Capital
David Heasty
David Heasty
Partner & Creative DirectorTriboro
Alicia Grimes
Alicia Grimes
Co-founderThe Future Kind Collective
Jonathan Denais
Jonathan Denais
Investment DirectorEducapital
Gati Kalim
Gati Kalim
Head of Venture Portfolio ManagementChemovator / BASF SE
Marcel van der Heijden
Marcel van der Heijden
PartnerFortino Capital Partners
Britta Muzyk-Tikovsky
Britta Muzyk-Tikovsky
CEOCapscovil.Com
Inge Hovd Gangaas
Inge Hovd Gangaas
Investment DirectorSINTEF
Melda Akin
Melda Akin
Founder & CEOD14.AI
Hendrik Kramer
Hendrik Kramer
Co-founder & CEOFERNRIDE

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–  Inc.

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Speaker Sebastien Borget, The Sandbox, on Centre Stage during day two of Web Summit 2022

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