The Beginning
Inspired by years of co-designing industry programmes and taking stock of the informal mentoring offered to people throughout this process, we realised that training alone wasn't enough to support creatives in their careers, that, beyond industry exposure, creatives need a champion at every career stage—someone to offer guidance, listen without judgment, and open doors.
This led to the creation of Meet a Mentor, with its inaugural session held on April 13, 2016 for a cohort of 10 Mentees, at Made by Many, supported by the RSA Catalyst Fund and A New Direction. The event featured a CV and job application workshop by Somethin’ Else and a talk by DJ and broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake, who shared insights from his 20-year career, emphasizing the value of mentorship and diversity in the creative industries.
Meet a Mentor partnered with organisations to offer bespoke, supportive mentoring programmes for young upcoming creatives, fostering a nurturing and supportive environment for creatives to advance their careers.
The programme is structured around 6 evening sessions over six months. Each session included networking, one-on-one mentor-mentee time, and often concluded with an inspiring TED-style talk or masterclass.
Hosted at prestigious venues like Google, V&A, Airbnb, Karmarama and GPJ Johnson, these informal yet dynamic evenings were designed to be both enjoyable and enriching. Mentors frequently found the experience reciprocal, gaining insights into their own practices while giving back to the creative community.
The Middle
To date, Meet a Mentor has matched over 300 mentor-mentee pairs, helping mentees secure roles at leading organisations like Aardman, BBC, Channel 4, Grey London, ITV, Sony Music, VCCP, Hachette, as well as successful freelance positions in a whole host of creative fields.
Our mentors have come from companies such as Airbnb, BBC, Channel 4, Google, Dazed Media, Freeda Media, MediaCom, Untold Studios, PTEA Architects bringing a wealth of industry expertise and insight.
Meet a Mentor thrives thanks to the goodwill and support of our dedicated mentors and the invaluable contributions of individuals and organisations like A New Direction with whom the programme was initially developed, Bianca Manu, Charlie Tims, and others who have believed in and supported the programme's development.
Now
