RIHub Venture Mentoring Service
A non-profit providing experienced, unbiased business guidance at no cost to entrepreneurs operating in RI.
At RIHub Venture Mentoring Service, we believe when an entrepreneur is connected with a team of experienced business people, good things will happen.
In 2018, Venture Mentoring Service of RI launched with an overarching goal to help boost the RI economy. Modeled after the 20-year-old MIT Venture Mentoring Service program, VMS incorporated proven principles and methodologies to develop a mentoring program which delivers business guidance in a trusted environment. In December 2019, Venture Mentoring Service of RI merged with RIHub.
The goals of RI Hub Venture Mentoring Service (VMS) are to increase and enhance the entrepreneurial talent pool in Rhode Island and to enhance the success of RI ventures. Since launch, the VMS program has doubled in size each year.
Interested in being mentored?
Entrepreneurs
At RIHub VMS we are here for you. Our number one goal is to enhance, grow and develop the entrepreneurial talent pool in Rhode Island. RIHub VMS works with Rhode Island entrepreneurs at any stage of the business development cycle and from any industry. RIHub VMS also understands, businesses are not built overnight and will provide mentoring for as long as an entrepreneur wants.
Entrepreneurs who are serious about growing their business will receive a team of dedicated mentors whose business experience and network can help power next moves. It is your business. And, at RIHub VMS, the entrepreneur is the driver of the program. You determine the frequency of mentoring sessions, set the agenda and decide which practical advice you’ll implement. If you are interested in being mentored and want to learn more, then, please fill out this brief VMS application and we’ll be in touch soon.
Mentors
RIHub VMS mentors are a leading group of professionals carefully selected based on their business experience and for their skills as advisors as well as their desire and ability to give back. Passionate about supporting the infrastructure for Rhode Island’s business community, VMS mentors’ careers represent a wide range of experience across a variety of industries and markets.
Mentors volunteer with VMS for many reasons including the intellectual appeal of this work, the collegial team approach and the desire to help entrepreneurs succeed. All VMS Mentors adhere to a strict code of ethics, as adopted from the MIT VMS model, and are dedicated to the delivery of impartial and unbiased business advice to Rhode Island entrepreneurs.
The MIT VMS Model
In 2000, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology founded the MIT Venture Mentoring Service (MIT VMS) to remedy a gap in how the university supports emerging entrepreneurial ventures. They developed a visionary concept for a venture mentoring program that would provide unbiased, conflict free business advice to entrepreneurs.
Recognized as an innovative leader by the Kauffman Foundation, MIT VMS created an Outreach Training Program to proactively disseminate the practices and methods of its program to over 75 other universities and economic development organizations across the US and worldwide.
Based on years of continuous learning and improvement, the MIT VMS program is built upon the following elements:
- Skilled, experienced, trained and motivated individuals as volunteer mentors
- Unbiased advice
- Team Mentoring
- Focus on the entrepreneur’s development
- Operational infrastructure that promotes quality mentoring
RIHub VMS has adopted the MIT Model in its entirety. We are committed to use the MIT VMS experience to add value to the ventures that participate in our program.
Interested in being mentored?
Testimonials
“They are encouraging, ask smart questions and make constructive suggestions.”
— Michael Kadish, Incentivize
“Our first meeting in a few months went extraordinarily well. We received objective yet supportive feedback on the direction of our business which is often hard to come by.”
— Andrew Bikash, Kanu
“I really appreciate the resources and connections all of my mentors are willing to provide for me.”
— Carissa Lombardi, Legislation Navigation
“Being transparent with our mentors about our needs has reliably created a space where their expertise addresses the immediate concerns and decisions we make about our business.”
— Bradley Adams, Aerogami