Instabeat's Hind Hobeika on how to pick great mentors

At age 26, Hind Hobeika is the founder of the Arab World’s hottest hardware startup, Instabeat, and has been successfully driving it towards success. One of her smartest moves so far has been to surround herself with helpful and supportive mentors and experts.

The Beirut-based startup manufactures the first waterproof heartrate monitor that tracks, stores, and displays information about a swimmer’s workout in real-time, to help swimmers optimize their performance. Earlier this year, Instabeat secured a Series A round of investment from Wamda Capital, Jabbar Internet Group, and angel investors, to accelerate its growth and bring its first product to market.

Throughout her journey Hobeika has come to realize how important it is for first time entrepreneurs to have mentors. She has learned how to find the suitable mentors for her and her startup, in addition to how to approach and get them involved.

Based on her personal experience we asked Hobeika to share bits of the story of building Instabeat amidst a strong circle of mentors.

Wamda: Where do you scout for mentors?

Hind Hobeika: At the beginning, I used to talk to every single person that had some business experience, even if not related to mine. As a first time entrepreneur I didn’t know what I needed exactly, and meeting with people and having them asking me questions helped me figure out what I should focus on. I spent a lot of time going to conferences and events.

I also read a lot, and when impressed by a certain startup founder or expert I would find ways to reach them, either by going to conferences where I know they will be speaking or figuring out a common connection.

View original:

Instabeat’s Hind Hobeika on how to pick great mentors