I definitely recommend mentoring for technical startups, and have been at different stages at both the contributing and receiving end of the process. These days, I often seem to hear from technical entrepreneurs who are struggling to find a mentor or complaining about their lack of effectiveness. Like any other relationship, it takes work on both sides to make mentoring work.

Every first-time entrepreneur or even an experienced founder stepping into a new business area needs a mentor. Nothing you have ever done raises so many questions or has the potential to be so fulfilling or risky as starting a new business for the first time. A mentor is a confidant who has been there and done that, and is willing to guide your steps.

Also, don't confuse a business mentor with a business coach. A mentor's aim is to teach you what to do and how in specific situations, unlike a coach who helps you develop your generic skills to decide what to do and how. The mentor...