Outreach Training Program
Helping organizations worldwide
establish their own venture
mentoring program based on
the successful MIT VMS Model.

The MIT Venture Mentoring Service was founded in 2000 to help MIT-affiliatedentrepreneurs learn what they need to know to start and sustain a businessthrough hands-on mentoring. Our mission is based on the belief that a venture is
far more likely to thrive when an entrepreneur can draw on the advice andguidance of mentors with proven knowledge and experience — and when suchadvice is provided by a team of volunteer mentors in a trusted environment.

The MIT VMS Model‘‘
The Institute will continue to serve as oneof the most powerful engines of innovationand entrepreneurship in the world. MITVMS has been and always will be critical tothat mission. MIT VMS makes a uniquecontribution to entrepreneurship at MIT byengaging its large group of highly qualified
volunteer mentors to guide aspiring
entrepreneurs as they develop the skills tobring their ideas to fruition.
DR. L. RAFAEL REIF
President
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The MIT VMS Model is the cumulative result of carefulobservation and continuous improvement. The key to its
success lies with a unique Team Mentoring methodology; astrict code of ethics to assure objective, conflict-free andconfidential advice; best practices for recruiting, training andretaining a community of highly qualified and committed
volunteer mentors; a focus on the entrepreneur; and formal
operational processes.
We provide the entrepreneur with advice they are unlikely
to find elsewhere — not only unbiased and confidential, butalso practical and tailored. The Team Mentoring approach,with mentor teams’ diverse backgrounds and experiences,
allows for advice that is sound, deep and broad. Finally, theadvice is ongoing, evolves with the entrepreneur’s needs, andis effectively delivered in a structured meeting environment.
Over the past 21 years, MIT VMS has proven to build
stronger entrepreneurs, drive business formation and growth,and provide measurable value to MIT and the local economy.

MIT VMS HIGHLIGHTS*

190+ 400+ $9B+ 70
volunteer
mentors

companies
launchedin funding
raisedliquidityevents‘‘Mentoring is seen today as a critical ingredient inhelping entrepreneurs start and grow successful
businesses, but building an effective and sustainable
mentoring program is not a trivial task.
Recognized for its leadership and excellence inentrepreneurship mentoring, MIT VMS has madepart of its mission the dissemination of ourmentoring Model to other institutions. We accomplish
that
mission by transferring the methodology,concepts and practices underlying the MIT VMS
Model through a series of training programs, under alicense from MIT.
Over the past 16 years, our experience has shownthat the MIT VMS Model can be successfully replicatedin different types of organizations (universities, economic development agencies, business incubators andaccelerators, and many hybrid models), in different
geographies and cultures, in communities of different
scales and with different entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Whether your goal is to educate the entrepreneur,
accelerate venture growth, increase tech transfer
or create jobs in your community, we can help you
establish a formal, sustainable and impactful
mentoring program to support it.

OUTREACH HIGHLIGHTS*

117 26 28
organizations
trainedcountries

US states* As of September 2022‘‘… I consider [MIT VMS] the gold
standard in mentoring programs. Thementoring program they were instrumental
in setting up and implementing in Manizales-Mas, Colombia, is the best I have seenlein practice yet.
DAN ISENBERG
Founding Executive Director
Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project… MIT VMS, one of the institutions withthe greatest specialty in mentoring, certifies
the teachings and participates in theprogram. […] MIT has turned the art ofmentoring into a science with guidelines
and a methodology.
PERE VICENS
MentorBARCELONA ACTIVA, Barcelona, Spain‘‘Disseminating aSuccessful Model

MIT VMS can provide comprehensive assistance as
you plan, establish and grow a mentoring program
based on our Model.
We start by training your leadership team in the Immersion Program, a 2½-day course delivered
exclusively to your organization at MIT. Throughacombinationof curriculum,
first-handparticipation in MIT VMS activities and in-depth
strategic discussions, we will teach your leadership
how to start and operate an impactful mentoring
program. We cover topics from ethical standards toproven processes for execution; from Team
Mentoring practices to IT requirements; frommentor screening and engagement to program
evaluation and metrics — all while considering yourorganization’s specific context.
We also offer a rich series of additional programs
that provide ongoing support based on your needs.
Many organizations have found that our programs suchas Mentor Training, Mentor Selection, and
our Stakeholder Program have been very valuable tothe successful implementation of their mentoring
programs.

Please contact us for further information on ourtraining programs, schedules and fees.
MIT Venture Mentoring Service
Outreach Training Programemail: mitvmsoutreach@mit.edu
phone: +1 617 258 0720
web:vms.mit.edu‘‘
There is no need to learn mentorshipby trial and error. Embracing the VMS
Model will save any institution asignificant amount of time and money.
SCOTT FITZGERALD
Board Member
Silicon Couloir, Jackson Hole, WY

Our mentoring program for high-tech
ventures is one of the best of its kind
today thanks to the solid foundation
laid out with the Model and thecontinuous support from MIT VMS.
THOMAS KLEM ANDERSEN
Program ManagerDTU Science Park, Greater Copenhagen, Denmark‘‘

Our Training Programs