# Mentor Concept · [Programs and community](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/community) Also called: mentors, mentorship, advisor, adviser, advisors, coach, coaching, advising An experienced person who gives a [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) guidance. A mentor usually helps for free. An advisor has a more formal role and may be paid in cash or [equity](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/equity). **For example:** A [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) meets a mentor once a month to review progress. Later the founder asks that mentor to become a formal advisor. ## Connects to (45) - [Advisor shares](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/advisor-shares): A small amount of equity a startup gives an advisor in return for ongoing help, usually as stock options that vest over the period of the… - [Office hours](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/office-hours): A set time when founders can bring questions to an expert, a mentor or program staff, usually in short one-on-one or small group sessions. - [Accelerator](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/accelerator): A program with a fixed length that helps a group of early companies grow faster through coaching, introductions and sometimes funding. - [Alumni](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/alumni): The founders and companies that finished a program in the past. - [AMA](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ama): Short for 'ask me anything'. - [W.E. Build](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/we-build): Build in Tulsa's business accelerator for startups led by women, especially women from communities with limited access to funding and… - [i2E](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/i2e): An Oklahoma nonprofit, with offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, that helps founders turn early ideas into scalable companies. - [REI Oklahoma](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/rei-oklahoma): A statewide nonprofit that offers flexible financing and business development help to Oklahomans with limited access to resources. - [Oklahoma SBDC](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/oklahoma-sbdc): A statewide network that gives small businesses free, confidential one-on-one advising and workshops, in person or online. - [SCORE Tulsa](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/score-tulsa): The Tulsa chapter of SCORE, a national nonprofit network of volunteer business mentors. - [Tulsa Tech](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/tulsa-tech): Tulsa's public career and technology education district. - [Startup Grind Tulsa](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/startup-grind-tulsa): The Tulsa chapter of Startup Grind, a community for founders with chapters in many cities. - [Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/black-wall-street-chamber): A membership nonprofit in Tulsa that supports Black-owned businesses in the region. - [Chimera Cafe](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/chimera-cafe): A cafe in downtown Tulsa that serves coffee, food and drinks and hosts events. - [Natsukashii](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/natsukashii): A Japanese restaurant in downtown Tulsa that also runs a full coffee and matcha service. - [Pony Coffee](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/pony-coffee): A Tulsa coffee shop that roasts its own coffee and describes itself as Oklahoma owned and operated. - [DoubleShot Coffee Company](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/doubleshot-coffee): A coffee roaster and cafe in Tulsa, open since 2004, that calls itself Oklahoma's first specialty coffee roaster. - [Topeca Coffee](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/topeca-coffee): A coffee roaster based in Tulsa with cafes downtown. - [Techlahoma Expert AMA](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/techlahoma-expert-ama): Techlahoma's online question-and-answer series. - [SheCodesOKC](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/shecodesokc): An Oklahoma City network of female and non-binary technologists who meet each month to learn and support each other. - [The Verge OKC](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/the-verge-okc): A nonprofit hub for entrepreneurs in Oklahoma City. - [Oklahoma Women in Technology](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/okwit): A nonprofit for women who work in technology in Oklahoma, started in 2016. - [Riipen](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/riipen): A platform that connects college students and instructors with employers for short, real work projects as part of a course. - [Big Brothers Big Sisters](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/big-brothers-big-sisters): A national youth mentoring organization that creates one-to-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteers and young people, through… - [Google Data Center Community AI Fellowship](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/google-ai-fellowship): A fellowship run by the Watson Institute and funded by Google for community leaders in places that host Google data centers. - [Google for Education Certified Trainer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/google-certified-trainer): A Google for Education credential for educators who train other teachers to use Google's classroom tools. - [Google Developer Experts](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/google-developer-experts): A Google program that recognizes experienced developers who know one or more Google or open source technologies well. - [Google for Startups](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/google-for-startups): Google's program for startup founders. - [SBA Mentor-Protégé Program](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/sba-mentor-protege): A US Small Business Administration program in which a small business (the protégé) learns from an experienced government contractor (the… - [Watson Institute](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/watson-institute): An educational organization based in Boulder, Colorado that trains entrepreneurs and community leaders. - [Work-integrated learning](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/work-integrated-learning): Education that formally combines a student's studies with real work in a workplace, for example co-op terms, internships, apprenticeships… - [Caboose Coffee](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/caboose-coffee): A coffee shop in Oklahoma City that says it grew from a humble closet into a loud and proud coffee shop. - [Clarity Coffee](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/clarity-coffee): A coffee roaster and cafe in Oklahoma City with three locations. - [Parlor OKC](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/the-parlor-okc): A food hall in Oklahoma City's Automobile Alley with seven kitchens, two bars, a garden patio and an event space that can be booked. - [Zero Tolerance Coffee](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/zero-tolerance-coffee): A veteran-owned coffee house and bean-to-bar chocolate maker in the Britton district of Oklahoma City, founded in 2019 and now called SIYO… - [Oklathon](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/oklathon): Techlahoma's free open-source hackathon in Oklahoma City, a weekend of pitching ideas, forming teams, building and demoing projects with… - [Endeavor](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/endeavor): A global network supporting growth-stage entrepreneurs with mentorship and strategic connections. - [Women in Tech Summit](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/oklahoma-women-in-tech-summit): A summit for women in technology and their allies that Oklahoma Women in Technology hosts with InnoTech Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. - [The Summer Startup](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/summer-startup): A weekend event in Oklahoma City where participants try to build a startup from zero to one in 54 hours, with mentorship, cash prizes and… - [Women+ in Tech of Tulsa](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/women-plus-in-tech-tulsa): A Tulsa community for women with careers in technology that offers networking, mentorship, professional development and certification and… - [Fuel Accelerator](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/fuel-accelerator): An equity-free, no-fee ten-week accelerator in Bentonville, Arkansas for enterprise-ready HealthTech and AI/ML startups. - [Endeavor Heartland ScaleUp](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/endeavor-heartland-scaleup): A regional accelerator for scaling businesses. - [i2E Venture Advisory Services](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/i2e-venture-advisory): One-to-one support, structured programming and capital connections for early Oklahoma founders validating ideas and preparing for… - [Fractional executive](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/fractional-executive): An experienced leader who works for several companies at once, each for part of the week, usually for a monthly fee. - [Technical advisor](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical-advisor): An experienced engineer or technology leader who gives a startup occasional advice on technical choices, such as what to build on and whom… Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/mentor