Meet the mentor: Emily Sheen (2010)

Jesus College has an innovative Careers and Mentoring Programme matching current students and recent alumni with experienced alumni and leaders in their fields. One of our mentors, Emily Sheen (2010), tells us more about her career, her mentoring experience, and her advice for others about to embark on the mentoring process.

Can you tell us more about why you chose your degree and your career path so far?

I’m a MML graduate. Like my degree, my career has been all about understanding people and culture and how it influences their behaviours. It’s also been about building things people want: first brands, then businesses. I’m currently a venture builder – it’s a role that combines the creativity and courage of entrepreneurship with the rigour and strategy of consulting. At Rainmaking, we build businesses in partnership with corporate companies, leveraging their ‘unfair advantages’ such as customer databases or technological capabilities to beat start-ups at their own game. We work together as a team to come up with the idea for the business, then secure seed funding from the corporate sponsor before passing the fledgling business onto a founder to scale. Our competitors include BCG X (formerly BCG Digital Ventures), Futurelabs, McKinsey Leap and others. I’m based in Singapore, where the government has garnered massive support for venture building, which is exciting to see and a sign that this new model of entrepreneurship is set to scale exponentially in the coming years. If you’re keen to learn more about venture building, drop me some specific questions and I’d be happy to help.

What makes a good mentor?

Firstly, a good mentor acts like a periscope, helping you to see outside your world and opening your eyes to opportunities you previously knew nothing about. Secondly, they’re a trusted and informed advisor: my past mentors have given me much more relevant, impartial and helpful advice than family or friends. Thirdly and most importantly, mentors can point you in the direction of sponsors in their network. Sponsors are mentors with the power to get you where you need to go. They whisper your name to the right hiring manager or open a new door for you just when you need it. Every successful career person has a whole host of mentors and sponsors who have helped them on their way. Over the years I’ve been assigned mentors within my company, I’ve participated in a mentorship programme run by a leading Venture Capital firm and I’ve now turned the tables to start giving back as an active member of Singapore’s Advisory Mentorship Programme. Armed with confidence and insider information, my mentees have secured new jobs, pay rises and promotions faster than they initially expected to before we started working together. Undergrads, jump on this opportunity and send a message detailing the following to the mentor whose experience is most relevant to your career ambitions:

• An introduction to you, your career ambitions, your current challenges.

• Specific questions or areas where you believe your mentor could provide perspective.

• Bonus: areas where you believe you could help them by providing fresh perspective - e.g. my mentee recently helped me understand Gen Z views on the metaverse.

I’m so pleased to see Jesus Connect come to life, I only wish it had existed a decade ago. Good luck and enjoy your first mentorship experience.

Emily can be contacted on Jesus Connect the College's mentoring and networking platform. 

The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to Emily Sheen (2010).