“Who speaks into your life will determine the trajectory of your life.”
We often speak of mentorship as though it belongs only in the world of startups and boardrooms, but in truth it begins much earlier—woven into the fabric of our very lives. Parents, siblings, close friends, teachers all step into that role long before we know the word.
The question that has haunted me as I have reflected on my own journey and those of fellow founders is simple: do we ever stop needing a mentor, even at 80 years old? Or does mentorship evolve, shifting from authority to companionship, from instruction to legacy, as we move through life’s stages?
Human growth often follows a rhythm of seven years. In the first seven, the emotional layer dominates: we learn by imitation, absorbing values and fears.
From eight to 14, socialisation takes centre stage—friends, teachers, coaches shaping our worldview.
From 15 to 21, the mindset is tested—rebellion, experimentation, and the first awareness of identity. From 22 to 28, strategy begins—careers, choices of partners, ventures that set us on paths that can last decades. By 35, the spiritual layer begins to whisper: is this life mine, or one borrowed from another’s script?
And at each of these stages, mentors appear, sometimes in the form of parents, sometimes peers, sometimes complete strangers who hold the torch for just long enough to illuminate a crossing.
When we turn the lens to founders, mentorship takes on an even sharper edge. The stakes are higher, the isolation more profound, the risks magnified. That is why I began our conversation on Founders’ Battlefield by asking: what is the difference between a mentor, a coach, an advisory board member, and a board member? When do we actually need each, and when do they blur into control?
Peter Ndiang’ui brought clarity from his journey. Having led OLX Africa with the support of corporate playbooks and experienced bosses, he was well-mentored in a structured world. But when he co-founded GoBEBA, those structures vanished.
The startup grind offered no manuals, and suddenly mentorship became less about hierarchy and more about survival. He admitted there were times when the advice he sought clashed with the instincts he had to trust.
His reflection revealed something vital: early mentors can equip us, but when we step into founder shoes, the calibration must change. Guidance is useful, but not when it overrides gut and vision.
Bobby Gadhia, who founded PC World with only $20 in his pocket in the mid-90s, entered a desert. There were no mentors, no startup ecosystems, no manuals for Kenyan tech entrepreneurs. His school of mentorship was trial, error, and resilience.
He carries the scars of being both under-mentored and misled, yet today he has become a sought-after “mindset mentor” for younger entrepreneurs.
He shared how betrayal by supposed guides shaped his resolve to be the mentor he never had, helping founders avoid the traps he fell into. Bobby’s story reminds us that mentorship’s absence can forge an inner compass, but it also leaves wounds that drive us to ensure others do not bleed the same way.
Valentine Njoroge, on the other hand, is a bridge between generations. At just 24, she was entrusted to manage a $5 million entrepreneurship fund at Centum, mentoring founders even as she sought guidance herself. Her dual experience as both mentee and mentor in fintech has given her a nuanced lens.
She has felt the power of good guidance, but also the confusion of being over-advised, sometimes by people who underestimated her because of her youth or gender. Today, through Africa’s Pocket, she channels that duality—knowing that being a mentor means offering space, not scripts, and being a mentee means learning to filter, not just absorb.
I have also seen how toxic it becomes when mentors use their position for influence rather than guidance. My own growth as a host of these conversations has reaffirmed one truth: the founder’s journey is less about seeking mentors blindly, and more about discerning when guidance serves and when it enslaves.
As we explored on the podcast, mentorship maps onto the AFOS layers too. Emotionally, it steadies us in the storms. Socially, it expands our networks.
Strategically, it sharpens our execution. Spiritually, it anchors us to meaning beyond money. And mindset? That is perhaps the trickiest layer of all, for the wrong mentor can plant doubts that derail a lifetime of resolve.
That is why I return to the question: at what age do we stop needing mentors? Perhaps never. But what we need in each stage evolves—from hand-holding to sounding board, from compass to mirror.
This is part one of a two-part reflection. In the next, we will dive deeper into the founder’s dilemma: when mentorship accelerates growth, when it becomes manipulation, and how to protect your vision while still receiving guidance.
Michael Anthony Macharia is a serial entrepreneur, founder of Seven Seas Technologies and Ponea Health
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