Benefits of Mentoring
Here in The Garage, we believe that having a mentor will assist the new entrepreneur in attaining their goals, not only for themselves but for their company also. If you want to become part of The Garage, rest assured that you will not be going it alone. You will have the guidance of our mentors to help you with every step of the establishment of your entrepreneurial endeavor.
There are many benefits of having a mentor to assist you in attaining your goals here in The Garage, such as:
- Develops a supportive relationship
- Gain practical advice and encouragement
- Learn from the experiences of others
- Improves self-confidence
- Become more empowered to make decisions
- Offers professional development
- Encourages reflection on practice
Meet Our Mentors
Dr. Terry Boult | El Pomar Chair of Innovation and Security
Dr. Boult is the El Pomar Endowed Chair of Innovation and Security and Professor of Computer Science. Dr. Boult’s ongoing research projects include advanced biometrics, advanced visual security systems, design and evaluation of imaging sensors for facial recognition, evaluation of weather effects on facial recognition, and algorithms for efficient use of wireless networks. Among his long list off accomplishments, he has founded Securics, a start-up company based in Colorado Springs. He holds four patents and has eight pending.
***************
Dr. Tom Duening | El Pomar Chair of Business and Entrepreneurship
Dr. Duening is the El Pomar Endowed Chair for Business and Entrepreneurship, Associate Professor of Management, and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. He has over 25 years of experience in teaching entrepreneurship and running entrepreneurship centers. In addition, he has 32 years as an entrepreneur. He started his first business in 1984 and has founded/co-founded nine other ventures since then. Dr. Duening is well known for his advocacy of entrepreneurship as a life path and has written 17 books on business and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Duening provides 100% pro bono mentoring (no fee, no equity) consulting to any local entrepreneur. Meetings with Dr. Duening are conducted in his UCCS office in Dwire Hall with the paramount focus of moving your venture forward. Although no fees are charged, he does expect that aspiring entrepreneurs will complete the agreed-upon homework assignments as covering the same topics in subsequent meetings is not an option.
***************
Gail Richards | Bachelor of Innovation Instructor
Gail Richards is an instructor in the world’s only Bachelor of Innovation housed within UCCS. Over her career, Gail has worked with many different companies in a wide range of industries. Assisting them with their social media, brand identity, marketing, and other business practices.
Incredibly passionate about students and their innovative ideas Gail is an incredible resource for any of her students looking for assistance.
Other Mentoring Options
In addition to meeting with Dr. Boult or Dr. Duening, The Garage periodically brings in guest speakers from the community. Additionally, we schedule regular Progress Pitch events where the entrepreneur has an opportunity to present in front of their peers and get feedback on how they might improve their “pitch.”
All of these mentoring avenues are there to help you envision your company – what will it look like, what will it offer to the community, how do I make it happen, etc.
We exist to help you along your entrepreneurial journey!