Opportunity recognition for novice entrepreneurs: the benefits of learning with a mentor

In the past, it has been demonstrated that mentors can help novice entrepreneurs in the identification of business opportunities (Ozgen & Baron, 2007). However, the process by which mentoring enable a mentee in identifying new opportunities is not well understood. To better understand this process, we surveyed novice entrepreneurs that were supported by a mentor in the mentoring scheme developed by Fondation de l'entrepreneurship. Of these novice entrepreneurs, 360 mentees responded. We then proceeded with a hierarchical linear regression using the novice's perception in his capacity to identity new opportunities as a dependent variable. We found that age is having a negative influence on dependent variable whereas management experience is having a positive effect. The learning goal orientation variable (LGO) is having a positive influence on the dependent variable. Finally, we found that the more a mentee learn with his/her mentor, the more they trust their abilities in identifying opportunities. Our results showed that mentoring may be a good way to support novice entrepreneurs in the start-up process and also in the development of their SMEs