Life Science Washington Institute

Thank you for your interest in participating in the WIN Mentoring Program! See below for a full description of the program, mentor requirements, and application process to participate.

The link to the application is at the bottom of this page. 

Please email Aylin Kim, Manager of Entrepreneurship, with any questions.

The WIN Program is continually looking to grow our mentoring pool with motivated business leaders and experienced entrepreneurs who are willing to contribute to the success of Washington-based life science and global health seed-stage ventures. Mentors should be passionate about engaging with emerging companies, coaching and educating entrepreneurs, growing and building their companies, and overall, making Washington state a vibrant innovation ecosystem. The mentor will participate in a proven mentoring program that has been tailored for our local innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurs in the life science and global health spaces. The mentor will be paired with candidate company/companies based on the interests of the venture and mentor. Mentors will not be paired with ventures where a conflict of interest is present. In addition, mentor participation shall be reviewed annually by the team at Life Science Washington Institute.

Benefits of Mentoring:

  • Deepen your professional network in the local ecosystem by mentoring with other highly qualified mentors
  • Contribute to your local life science and global health ecosystem by helping advance emerging businesses.
  • Flexible scheduling- you control your volunteer time
  • Be part of a proven and effective system while tailoring it to our local community
  • Opportunity to coach novice entrepreneurs and contribute to their stories of success

Responsibilities:

  • Recruiting, growing and strengthening a network of early stage companies and experienced mentors.
  • Participating and attending WIN Screening and Matching meetings to ensure mentors are paired with appropriate ventures.
  • Engaging with C-suite leaders in the community to market and grow the program
  • Attend WIN Mentoring sessions and engage with the program manager to facilitate scheduling
  • Abide by the policies of the WIN program
  • Coach companies and ask questions that guide the activities of the startup. It is not your responsibility to answer these questions or perform work for the ventures.
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest.

Qualifications:

  • The mentor should have proven experience commercializing a technology from inception to market adoption.
  • The mentor should be a seasoned entrepreneur, have experience in early stage companies or similar experiences.
  • The mentor should have a proven track record of interest and success in mentoring novice entrepreneurs and companies.
  • The mentor should fill a gap in current expertise needed by the program.

Time Commitment:

  • Approximately 1.5 hours each month per team for mentoring sessions. Each mentor selects the teams on which they would like to volunteer.
  • In addition to individual mentoring sessions with ventures, mentors also volunteer approximately 20 hours annually for WIN Program meetings including screening committee meetings and mentor luncheons.
  • We ask that mentors commit to working as part of a team of 3-5 mentors and expect to volunteer an average of 1.5 hours every 6-8 weeks for each venture team. Additionally, attendance at a 2-3 hour mentor meeting each quarter.

Mentor Selection:

  • Prospective mentors meet with LSWI staff member for informal meeting to learn more about LSWI and the WIN program.
  • If both parties feel the potential mentor would be a good fit, LSWI staff will coordinate a meeting with a small panel of current WIN Mentors for an interview at the Life Science WA Institute office.
  • If selected, the prospective mentor will then begin participation in the WIN Program during the next admissions cycle.
  • *Please note that if a prospective mentor is not able to commit to fully participating in the Mentoring Pool, there still may be opportunities for participation with LSWI programs including short-term mentoring/consulting on a case-by-case basis for a specific topic area.