Mentoring
Whether you’re a first-time entrepreneur, innovator, or a seasoned professional, having a mentor can be a game-changer.
Mentorship is central to our mission at Tsai CITY. Our program connects students with a network of over 600 inspiring mentors, offering invaluable guidance and support. We match mentees with experienced mentors in their industry who are passionate about empowering the next generation of innovators.
As a mentee, you’ll gain insights from your mentor’s expertise, build new skills, and access a community of mentors and peers for ongoing support and inspiration.
The Mentoring Process
I met with a mentor, made the changes to our sales process from their advice, and then the next sales call got a sale.
Option 1: Office Hours with Tsai CITY Staff
To start mentoring at Tsai CITY, Yale students can sign up for office hours and chat with the team to figure out how to make their ideas happen.
Option 2: Join our Venture Development Programs (VDPs)
Our VDPs include mentoring with lead mentors, thematic mentors, venture advisors, and venture associates.
Option 3: Mentorship After VDPs
For off-cycle mentoring needs, an application-based rolling mentorship program is available (including Startup Yale, our annual pitch-off competition).
Option 4: Mentorship Beyond Tsai CITY
Cross Campus is Yale's online networking, community-building, and mentoring program, facilitating relationships between Yalies.
This is why we do what we do
"[Our mentor] was incredibly supportive and talked us through every step of each decision-making process."
Nora Draper, ART ’20
"I had a great time speaking with [my mentee]. I saw a lot of progression from him and the team, and was heartened by seeing how quickly he was able to act on the feedback I provided."
Nick Gulino, LAW ’18,
Founder & CEO of Recover
"[My mentor] acted as a challenger that I needed and provided me with a different set of perspectives looking at my startup idea."
Jason Lee, YC ’25
You’re in good company
Beverly Jurenko
Executive and Leadership Coach at
Inside Edge Consulting LLC
Industry: Energy, Nonprofit
Organizations, Private Equity
Camele-Ann White
Director of Business Affairs &
Legal Counsel at Disney Theatrical
Group
Industry: Entertainment, Corporate
Law, Mergers & Acquisitions
Eason Yang
Founder and Creative Director at
Not Entirely Dead
Industry: Arts / Culture & Media,
Civic Engagement & Government
Erick Rios
Vice President of Engineering at
Big Bang Product Development
Industry: Consumer Goods, Medical
Devices
Jeehyang Leung
Global Head of Brand and Product
Marketing at Sendwave
Industry: Marketing, EdTech &
Fintech
Jennifer Peterson
Senior Manager for Analyst
Relations, Data & AI at IBM
Industry: Emerging Technologies,
Software
Michael Lewittes
Founder and CEO of Ranktify
Industry: Emerging Technologies,
Social Media, Venture Capital
Nelson Madubuonwu
Chief of Staff for Product at
Instagram
Industry: Emerging Technologies
Rahul Prasad
Investor and Advisor at MVP
Ventures
Industry: Nonprofit Organizations,
Education, Research & Technology
