DV is involved in the Stanford Business School and School of engineering as a mentor.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

Every year DV takes on 8 mentees from Stanford and offers free mentoring, connections, advice and assistance.

Since 2007 DV has also worked with a range of students helping them shape their ideas, write business plans and prepare for presentations.

“Jon Gillespie-Brown is an entrepreneur who knows what it take to be a successful entrepreneur. He has shared his used-wisdom as a mentor in my course, Technology Venture Formation, at Stanford University. Jon has been an inspiration to the student teams who have benefitted from his guidance. I'm pleased to see that Jon has captured his insights in a book which can influnece aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere. Audrey MacLean”

Audrey MacLean, Consulting Associate Professor, Stanford University

Here is what some of the past students have said about us:

"John,

I wanted to leave a small note of thanks for all the hard work and passion you put into team Budushei, Please feel free to use all or part of this on your website.

I wanted to write this note to thank you for coaching Team Budushei as part of the Technology Venture Formation.  As our mentor, you infused the team with genuine enthusiasm and kept up the energy levels, particularly during some high pressure points.  You were always direct in your feedback and constructive in your criticism.  Never letting us lose perspective and the miss bigger picture.  I now apply the AIDA framework routinely in my personal and professional life.  I am also spending significant time and energy doing research before launching my next venture!"

Girish Pashilkar, Sloan '08, Stanford Business School

"Hi Jon,

Thanks for being a great mentor to us this quarter. 

What I found particularly useful were the sessions where we fleshed out our ideas and got some good feedback as to what the VCs were looking for (something visceral, an advil not a vitamin), and also presentation coaching -- your advice helped get us amped and confident for our presentation. 

You really helped get us on the right track right before Gate 2 when we had to just focus our idea -- doing the one automotive vertical instead of the broad platform.  And of course being there for moral support before and after the final presentation.

Overall I'd give your performance a 9 out of 10.  I bet working with our team of eclectic backgrounds was no easy task! =)

Thanks for spending the time with us given your busy schedule of work plus writing your book and other things.  Happy holidays and see you in the New Year."

Jamie Wu