Mentor Collective Scales Student Support Services

The Importance of Mentorship in Student Success

Mentorship plays a vital role in helping students achieve their goals. Entrepreneurs readily recognize the need for platforms that increase access to guidance and advice. However, effectively matching mentors with students—distinguishing between someone who simply answers questions and someone who provides truly impactful mentorship—presents a significant scaling challenge.

Scaling Mentorship Across Diverse Student Populations

Startups aiming to expand mentorship programs across various sectors must cultivate a diverse pool of mentors. This supply needs to be both substantial and relatable to the wide range of students encountered today.

These students include busy graduate students balancing parenthood, high-achieving first-generation college students experiencing burnout, and engineers newly entering the tech industry while navigating work-life integration.

Mentor Collective's Approach to Scaled Mentorship

Founded in 2014 by Jackson Boyar and James Lu Morrissey, Mentor Collective, based in Boston, has spent years refining its approach to scaled mentorship. Initially, the startup focused on virtual pairings.

Over time, they’ve incorporated more structure and management into their marketplace. They address intrinsic motivation through surveys and utilize algorithmic matching, while also catering to the diverse needs of students through specialized curriculums for first-generation individuals, adult learners, veterans, BIPOC students, and others.

Growth and Customer Base

To date, Mentor Collective serves 165 higher-education institutions, including the University of Colorado Denver, Penn State, and Dartmouth. They also collaborate with corporations like Wells Fargo.

The company reports having trained over 50,000 mentors since its inception.

Bootstrapping for Long-Term Sustainability

While competitors like BetterUp and Sounding Board have secured substantial funding, Mentor Collective opted to bootstrap for seven years. CEO Jackson Boyar believes this strategy was crucial to avoid premature financial commitments.

He observed that some early-stage edtech companies that rapidly expanded with significant funding ultimately experienced faster failures.

Securing Series A Funding

“We are confident in allocating this funding responsibly, ensuring it benefits students,” Boyar stated. “It took us half a decade to develop this model, and expecting it to take only six months is unrealistic, especially when your core mission is to make a positive impact.”

Boyar announced a $21 million Series A funding round led by Resolve Growth Partners, with continued investment from the Lumina Foundation, which focuses on expanding access to lifelong learning.

From Nonprofit Aspirations to Product Efficacy

Boyar initially envisioned the company as a nonprofit. However, he believes that prioritizing “product efficacy, even if it meant potentially lower profits,” laid a strong foundation.

“Demonstrating a measurable impact on students through randomized control trials is essential when seeking investment from institutions,” he explained.

Revenue Growth and Predictable Outcomes

The decision to seek significant funding came after the company doubled its revenue last year, approaching $10 million in annual recurring revenue. More importantly, Mentor Collective began consistently delivering predictable positive outcomes for students.

Impact on Student Retention and Belonging

An analysis by Dr. Jenna Harmon and Dr. Joe Sutherland revealed that Mentor Collective contributed to a 3.84% increase in student retention and a 14% increase in students’ sense of belonging.

“Even a 1% improvement in retention is significant; a 4% increase across a student body of 5,000 translates to 200 fewer dropouts,” Boyar emphasized. The company’s key metric is its ability to reduce dropout rates by providing students with personalized support.

Demonstrating that mentorship increases a student’s likelihood of graduation allows the university to potentially recoup tuition revenue through the service.

Comparison to Other Solutions

Companies like EdSights are utilizing chatbots to connect students with resources. Claudia Recchi, a co-founder of EdSights, previously questioned what data would be most valuable in preventing students from dropping out.

The Core of Mentor Collective’s Approach

“Our mentorship model focuses on connecting students with individuals who can relate to their experiences, providing support at critical moments in their journey,” Boyar said. “This fosters a sense of belonging, increases graduation rates, and unlocks the social mobility that college promises, but often fails to deliver to non-traditional students.”

Diversity and Future Growth

Currently, over 50% of Mentor Collective’s mentors are people of color, and 36% are first-generation college students. While the company currently relies on volunteer mentors, the recent venture backing may necessitate compensation for these contributors.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in mentorships, with 83,000 connections made in 2021, doubling the previous year’s total and significantly increasing from 19,874 in 2019.

Lessons Learned and Future Focus

Boyar reflects that the company could have been more focused in its early stages. The broad demand for mentorship presents numerous potential use cases, and the company often receives inquiries from diverse organizations, including libraries and the military.

While pursuing these opportunities can drive short-term growth, the effectiveness of mentorship varies significantly across different contexts.

Navigating Future Growth

With new funding secured, Mentor Collective must strategically prioritize its growth, remaining both thoughtful and ambitious in its approach.