Speed dating for business

Bayes Business School research finds that employing speed-dating techniques early can improve ties between entrepreneurs and their mentors.

The connection start-up entrepreneurs build with potential mentors during their very first ‘date’ can determine whether a mentoring relationship develops.

Speed dating –where you meet a room full of people in a short space of time – is an exciting activity in and of itself. However, unlike with most conventional speed dating, many early-stage entrepreneurs get immediate feedback.

A study, led by Bayes Business School, explored the early interactions between start-ups and people they have never met before.

While existing research shows that feedback helps entrepreneurs develop themselves and their business, it does not explain what influence it has on the future relationship between the entrepreneur and the stranger they are getting feedback from.

Analysis of 54 speed dates revealed that whether these first meetings turn into long-term mentoring relationships often depends on the nature of the feedback, the way potential mentors use their expertise and whether there is any early commitment to feedback.

Numerous factors shaped whether entrepreneurs were likely to propose a follow-up meeting with a potential mentor. These included:

1. The nature of the feedback: While feedback often failed to give any novel insights, unwanted feedback that comes out of the blue wasn’t effective either. The best option was spontaneous feedback related to something discussed earlier in the conversation (For example: ‘You said you want to expand to 25 cities in the next three months – I think you should consider X’).
2. The expertise displayed by the mentor: Entrepreneurs liked mentors who gave expert advice, but only when it was linked to something they brought up earlier and when the mentor also acknowledged the expertise of the entrepreneur. (For example, asking the entrepreneur about their thoughts on the matter, the progress they had made so far, or the specific context/industry they work in).
3. Whether entrepreneur and mentor commit to feedback early on: Whenever an early feedback exchange was abandoned (because mentors didn’t answer entrepreneurs’ questions or entrepreneurs evaded unsolicited feedback), responses to later feedback were not positive, even if that feedback was in line with points 1 and 2.

Report author Dr Ruben van Werven, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Bayes Business School, said the findings could be significant for the managers of start-ups, or those who receive feedback from strangers, such as early workplace buddies.

• Bayes Entrepreneurship