Mentoring helps young entrepreneurs start more businesses and keep them open longer. SCORE is the largest U.S. volunteer mentoring network. It says mentored founders are five times more likely to start a business and three times more likely to stay in business. Research on top startups points the same way. Founders mentored by successful entrepreneurs were far more likely to become top performers themselves.
Interest in starting a business is high. The U.S. Census Bureau counted nearly 535,000 business applications in September 2026 alone. Many of those founders are young and starting out with no guide. Here is what the proof says about mentoring and where it helps most.
What the Numbers Show
SCORE has tracked its mentoring results for years. In 2024, its roughly 10,000 volunteer mentors held more than 300,000 mentoring sessions. They helped start 59,447 new businesses and supported 143,623 jobs. According to SCORE’s own client survey, 94% of clients who were in business were still operating at the end of 2024. SCORE notes that a change in how it counted business starts may have raised its 2024 figures.
SCORE’s main claim is that mentored founders are five times more likely to start and three times more likely to stay in business. That claim comes from the group itself, not an independent study. Earlier SCORE research gave more detail. In a 2018 report, mentored businesses were 12% more likely than the national average to survive their first year. The share of owners who reported growth rose from 30% after one mentor meeting to 43% after five or more.
The pattern holds in high-growth startups too. Endeavor Insight studied nearly 700 New York tech founders. It found that 33% of founders mentored by successful entrepreneurs became top performers. That was more than three times the rate of other firms in the study.
Why Mentoring Works
Mentors rarely hand out answers. Their value comes from a few simple things.
- They shorten the learning curve. A mentor may have priced a service, hired a first worker or made it through a slow season. That mentor can save a founder months of trial and error.
- They open doors. Being introduced to buyers, lenders and suppliers is often worth more than advice.
- They provide accountability. Regular check-ins keep founders working on the business, not just in it.
- They offer perspective. Someone outside the daily grind can spot a problem, or a chance, that the founder cannot see.
Business Insiders has profiled a Mahomet executive who works to transform lives through education and mentoring. He is one example of how seasoned pros give back by guiding the next wave of founders.
Starting Young
Youth programs for future founders show good results. A 2016 survey of alumni from the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship found that 16% were self-employed. The researchers said that was above the national average. Junior Achievement reported in 2022 that half of its surveyed alumni had started or owned a business. It also found that 60% of teens would rather start a business than take a normal job.
Not every young person has a mentor. MENTOR, a national nonprofit, has long estimated that one in three young people grow up without one. Its research found that people who had mentors were more likely to take on lead roles and to volunteer later in life.
Mentoring often reaches young people through job and social service programs. Take one leader with more than 30 years in child welfare, disability services and workforce development. Her work shows how those systems can open paths to jobs and ownership. They help people who might be left out.
Where Founders Can Find a Mentor
Free help is easier to find than many founders think.
- SCORE. Volunteer mentors, often retired bosses and business owners, offer free one-on-one sessions in person and online.
- Small Business Development Centers. The Congressional Research Service says the network includes 63 lead centers and more than 900 service locations, often hosted by colleges.
- Women’s Business Centers. The 168 centers served about 94,600 clients in 2024. That was more than four times as many as in 2015.
- Industry groups and local chambers. Trade groups often match newer members with seasoned ones.
- Former bosses and customers. Some of the best mentors are people who already know your work.
Funding for some of these programs is debated in Washington each year. The White House budget request for fiscal 2027 proposed ending federal funding for Small Business Development Centers. An earlier request targeted SCORE’s federal support. Congress kept Small Business Development Center funding in place for fiscal 2026. Still, founders should not assume each program will look the same next year.
How to Get the Most From a Mentor
- Come to each meeting with one or two clear questions.
- Share real numbers. Mentors can only help with problems they can see.
- Follow up on advice and report back on what happened.
- Meet more than once. SCORE’s data links three or more hours of mentoring to stronger revenue growth.
- Build a small circle, not a single guru. Each mentor brings different strengths.
Mentoring and reputation often go hand in hand. Many of the service businesses that last for decades learned their trade from someone who came before them. More coverage is in the service section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does having a mentor help a business survive?
The evidence suggests it does. SCORE’s client survey found that 94% of clients in business were still open at the end of 2024. Research on startups found mentored founders were far more likely to become top performers.
Where can a young entrepreneur find a free mentor?
SCORE, Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Centers all offer free or low-cost mentoring and advice. They work across the country.
How often should you meet with a business mentor?
Regular meetings work best. SCORE’s data links three or more hours of mentoring to stronger growth than a single session.
The Bottom Line
Mentoring is one of the cheapest and best ways to improve a young founder’s odds. It shortens the learning curve, opens doors and keeps owners focused. Hundreds of thousands of new business applications come in each month. The need for seasoned guides has never been higher.
