Behind every founder and innovator, there is a network of people who open doors, challenge assumptions and help turn uncertainty into momentum. At ASU’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute, mentors play a critical role in helping ventures navigate the realities of building something new.
This blog features some of the many incredible mentors who work with the startup community that Edson E+I supports. These mentors bring a range of industry experience and perspectives to the table, but they all share a commitment to helping founders grow.
Whether you are looking for strategic guidance, pitch support, accountability, industry expertise or simply someone who understands the entrepreneurial journey, finding the right mentor can make a meaningful difference. Through their reflections, these mentors share what drives them, how they approach mentorship and what they hope founders take away from every conversation.
These mentors and many others are ready and waiting to meet with you to move your venture to the next level! Explore the current E+I mentor hub to learn more. If you’re Interested in giving back to the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators, check out the Edson E + I website to learn more about becoming a mentor.
Here are a few tips from experienced mentors helping entrepreneurs on their venture journey.
Meet the Mentors:
Julie Stoney
Vice President, Business Development Officer, Scottsdale Community Bank
What should founders look for when choosing a mentor?
“Founders know their product or service offering and have fallen in love with their idea. When choosing a mentor, I recommend they look for coaches who offer insight and guidance in areas they don’t know, haven’t been exposed to or have no knowledge of. Founders should look for mentors who will challenge them and ask the tough questions.”
What is one piece of advice you consistently share with early-stage ventures?
“Establish a Working Advisory Council, meet with them, as a group, at a minimum, on a bi-annual basis. Kick off each year with a meeting to introduce your business plan for the year. Then, do a follow-up meeting within six months to provide a progress report on how the business is doing against the plan. It is important that all members are together, hearing the same message. Members can ask questions, be a referral source for business and work together for the good of the company. Advisory Council Members should include your Banker, Insurance Provider, CPA, Attorney and Mentor/Coaches.”
Can you share a moment or experience from mentoring that has stayed with you?
“I was working with a founder who received a phone call from a General Contractor. The GC wanted them to start a job the next day, with a verbal agreement, no formal contract. It took the founders six months after the project was completed to collect what was owed to them. Make sure you have a signed contract. This protects everyone and sets expectations.”
Founder Fit
Best suited to support founders looking for support in:
- Finance/Investment/Banking
- Business Development, Treasury Management, Banking Operations, Relationship Management
Dan Viza
Managing Director, Intellisense Advisors
What drew you to mentoring founders?
“I had many different experiences during my career with mentoring, ranging from new graduates to working closely with senior executives as a strategic advisor to being an investor in, and ultimately working in, venture-funded companies.
I learned to appreciate that those who were most successful had values, qualities and behaviors unlike the others — they were high-functioning people who were interested in learning from others. Later on, this led to the realization that I had collected many hard lessons learned, and that my experiences could benefit others to avoid problems or better solve problems and opportunities they encounter.
At the end of the day, we are all here to learn and contribute our knowledge so that others can benefit. That more than anything else defines my motive.”
What is one piece of advice you consistently share with early-stage ventures?
“Generating revenue creates more value than attracting investment capital. Spend as much time as possible on generating revenue, and raising capital to grow will be easier.
Traction first before growth. Achieve product-market fit in a tightly focused niche that provides opportunity to win, secure traction and win an unfair percentage of the market before moving on to adjacent segments (growth). You have to have a ‘first’ before you can have another.”
What is one unconventional resource, habit or mindset you encourage founders to adopt?
“Perfect is the enemy of good enough. You don’t need to figure it all out before acting on it. Motion creates opportunity.“
Founder Fit
Best suited to support founders looking for support in:
- Microelectronics, Technology/Software, Finance/Investment
- Product plans, financial models, strategy and funding
Wally Simon
Certified Business Mentor, SCORE
What is a common misconception that founders have when working with Mentors
“The biggest misconception is that mentors provide answers. They don’t. They challenge how you think, push on your assumptions and expose blind spots. If it’s working, you leave with better judgment — not just direction.”
If your mentoring sessions had a theme song, what would it be?
“‘Hall of Fame’ by The Script (feat. will.i.am). It captures one belief: greatness is earned. That’s the mindset I push, because the founders who persist, push through doubt and back themselves are the ones who ultimately break through.”
What should founders look for when choosing a mentor?
“The best mentor for an early-stage founder isn’t necessarily someone who’s built your exact product or service. It’s someone who helps you think clearly, act decisively and stay honest with yourself. What matters most is someone who gives candid feedback and leans toward action, helping you decide and execute, not just reflect and discuss.”
Founder Fit
Best suited to support founders looking for support in:
- Consumer products, procurement and sustainability
- Product development life cycle (food and beverage), retail, branding/marketing, work/life balance and strategic planning
Haripriyanga Navaneethan
Senior Software Engineer, Tesla
What types of founders or challenges do you feel you are best suited to support?
“I’m best suited to support early-stage founders who are building technical products and need help translating vision into scalable systems. This includes founders navigating architecture decisions, setting up engineering processes like SDLC and CI/CD and building their first engineering team. I also enjoy helping founders work through prioritization, avoiding overengineering and making pragmatic trade-offs as they move from idea to product-market fit.”
What drew you to mentoring founders?
“Over the years, working on large-scale systems at companies like Walmart and Tesla has shown me how strong technical foundations, product thinking and execution can shape impactful businesses. I find it rewarding and exciting to guide founders through architecture, strategy and growth challenges.”
What is one unconventional resource, habit or mindset you encourage founders to adopt?
“The goal isn’t to be right immediately, but to stay adaptable while they discover what actually creates value for users.”
Founder Fit
Best suited to support founders looking for support in:
- Technology/Software
- Backend engineering, cloud and data platforms, scalability and technician leadership
Ken Brandeis
Serial entrepreneur
What should founders look for when choosing a mentor?
“Founders should look for mentors who have expertise in their area of need. For example, I am good at helping companies grow, so I would be a good option for founders looking to develop a sales strategy. But if they are looking for advice on the best way to set up their entity, they are better off choosing an attorney or accountant.”
Can you share a moment or experience from mentoring that has stayed with you?
“I worked with a young man in Atlanta who left his job and started a roofing company. He reached back out a few years later to express his gratitude and shared with me that he had grown his business quite a bit and was successful beyond what he had imagined.”
If a founder walked away from your session remembering only one thing, what would you want it to be?
“To aggressively go after it (it being whatever the next step in their process is).”
Founder Fit
Best suited to support founders looking for support in:
- Technology/Software, Sales, Non-Profit and Healthcare
- B2B Sales, Business Strategy and Pitching/Storytelling
Riddhi Gondaliya
Product Designer, Grid Raster Inc.
What drew you to mentoring founders?
“What initially drew me to mentoring was my own experience as part of a startup team. We received guidance from mentors with diverse expertise, and those conversations often gave us entirely new perspectives and helped us move forward when we felt stuck. That experience showed me how powerful the right mentorship can be in shaping decisions and accelerating progress.
As I’ve grown in my career as a product designer, I’ve felt a strong desire to give back to the community. I want to share the lessons I’ve learned—especially around the challenges early-stage teams face—and help founders gain clarity and direction. That motivation naturally led me to mentoring.”
What is one piece of advice you consistently share with early-stage ventures?
“Clarity beats complexity. If your product, pitch or value proposition isn’t easy to understand, it won’t resonate. Simplifying your idea is often the highest-leverage work you can do early on.”
Can you share a moment or experience from mentoring that has stayed with you?
“One moment that stands out is working with a team that was struggling to clearly articulate their value. Once we reframed the problem from the user’s perspective, everything aligned — their messaging, product decisions and even their confidence. It reinforced how powerful clarity and user-centered thinking can be.”
Founder Fit
Best suited to support founders looking for support in:
- Aerospace/Defense/Space Systems Innovations, Technology/Software, Consumer Products, Creative/Media/Arts/Entertainment and Health/Biotech
- AI product design, UI/UX, prototyping, AI, health tech, spatial intelligence and AR/VR
John Bennett
Managing Director – Transformation
How would you describe your mentoring style or approach?
“Pretty direct.
I’m not there to give answers or tell you what you want to hear. I’m there to help you think more clearly and make better decisions. I am a big fan of process and milestones. My role is to challenge and make them comfortable in the decisions that they are making.
We usually walk out of a session with a clearer problem, a couple of priorities and something you’re actually going to do next.”
If your mentoring sessions had a theme song, what would it be?
“I’m a new wave guy (shows my age), let’s go with Don’t You Forget About Me, by Simple Minds. I want the founder to remember our discussions and make sure they refer to them as they make decisions going forward.”
What types of founders or challenges do you feel you are best suited to support?
“Founders who want to be challenged, but also those who are well prepared and have done a lot of basic research and groundwork to know where they are headed. I’m not the best person to build your plan from square one, but am really motivated by someone who already has a well-thought-out direction.”
Founder Fit
Best suited to support founders looking for support in:
- Consumer products, finance/investment, procurement and technology/software
- Leadership/team building, general advising, financial modeling, business strategy and scaling
The insights shared by these mentors reinforce the lesson that growth comes from being open to feedback, staying adaptable, prioritizing customer value and taking consistent action. The right mentor can help you challenge assumptions, navigate obstacles and make more confident decisions as you grow your venture. Whether you are looking for guidance on technology, finance, sales, product development, leadership or strategy, Edson E+I’s mentor network offers a wealth of experience and perspectives.
Ready to connect with a mentor? Explore the E+I Mentor Hub to find the right fit for your venture.
Interested in helping shape the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators? Learn more about becoming an Edson E+I mentor and join a community dedicated to supporting bold ideas and meaningful impact.
