Transformative mentorship, the kind that changes trajectories, is rare.
We're asking exceptional founders worldwide: Who challenged you? Who pushed you when no one else would? Who helped you ship when it felt impossible?
We're not looking for the famous names giving keynotes, rather the operators with battle scars and exits that prove what works.
doing this
Think of the mentor(s) who told you your vision was too small. Who pushed back on your roadmap and made you rethink everything. Who introduced you to the person who changed your company.
Such trajectory-shifting moments never come from generic advice. They come from operators who've been there.
EWOR is recognising the Top 100 Founder Mentors globally who move the needle for exceptional founders – not through theory, but lived experience, contrarian wisdom, and tried-and-tested methods.
This is less about awards, more about recognising who's real.
Most mentors validate.
The best ones challenge.
We want to recognise the few who truly make a difference.
You hear it everywhere:
"Build something people want!"
"Focus on product-market fit."
"Hire slowly, fire fast."
True, obvious and unhelpful.
Everyone says this.
Few can show you how.
Specific. Contrarian. Earned.
"Your unit economics won't scale. Here's why ..."
"Fire your co-founder. Here's how to do it with integrity."
"Pivot now. You have 6 weeks of runway."
The advice that changes everything.
The mentors we will recognise have:
- Built companies (exits, scale, real outcomes)
- Mentored, raised funding, scaled, exited
- Operated at the earliest, hardest stages
They've lived it.
They can show you.
Who we're
looking for
To make the Top 100, mentors must meet all four criteria.
We're looking for operators who prove their methods through mentee outcomes, not just reputation.
Founded, co-founded, or were critical early operators (first 10 employees) in a venture. Understands the reality of building from experience, not observation.
Challenges convention. Provides contrarian wisdom. Transforms trajectories, doesn't just validate. Pattern recognition from lived experience, not playbooks.
Currently mentoring founders (within the last 12 months). Not historical reputation, active engagement with evidence from recent mentees.
Demonstrable impact on mentees' success. Evidence includes: funding raised, exits achieved, pivots executed, key hires made. Specific transformation stories required.
We want to recognise the entire ecosystem, not just our own network
→ EWOR fellows (3x)
→ Founders who've raised $1M+ (2x)
→ Venture scouts & SPPs
Nominators must share a specific moment when the mentor transformed their trajectory.
Generic praise doesn't count.
→ Number of nominations (20%)
→ Verified mentee outcomes (30%)
→ Nominator credibility (20%)
→ Early-stage focus (10%)
→ Years active mentoring (10%)
→ Geographic diversity (10%)
→ Stephan Schambach (3x unicorn founder)
→ Sten Tamkivi (Skype, Plural)
→ Alexander Grots (EWOR)
→ Petter Made (EWOR, SumUp)
→ Leila Zegna (Kindred)
→ Viktoriya Tigipko (TA Ventures)
recognition they deserve.
who transforms founders?
BY 30 SEPTEMBER