Making the most of the trial

You have two options to run your trial, a 7-day free trial and a free intro call.

When you first join the platform, we will have you try out the 7-day trial first. This flow works and has existed for a long time.

It requires mentees to put in their payment method upfront, and moves into the full mentorship automatically after the 7 days are over. It’s low-fuzz, but requires some more upfront commitment from the mentee.

The intro call is just one 15-minute call and you should have it available after doing one or two trials. Mentees will choose their time when they first reach out to you, and can decide whether to proceed after the call is done. It’s a bit more work to set up and get right, but generally you’ll receive more volume in mentees.

First call agenda

Our recommendation is that you use our insights in 📩Qualifying mentees to structure your first call, independently from whether you use the 7-day trial structure or the intro call.

15-20 minute call
Come prepared; take notes and write down questions
Qualify the mentee, and clarify goals
Lead the conversation, analyze their situation
Close out the call with a specific actionable for the next call & next steps

Prepare before you join. The intro calls that go well are not the ones where the mentor joins without preparation. Before the call, read what the mentee has already given you: their application, their profile, the goals they wrote down, any messages you've exchanged. Then write down a handful of questions you actually want answered.

Lead the conversation. Weak intro calls let the mentee talk for twenty minutes without structure, then you both hang up without knowing what happens next. Instead, be the one running the call. An agenda that works:

Quick intro (2-3 min). Who you are and why you're a fit for what they wrote. Keep it short, they've already read your profile.
Their situation (7-10 min). Ask your prepared questions. Where they are now, what they've already tried, what's actually in the way.
Clarify the goal (3-5 min). Say back what you heard and have them confirm it. If it's vague, narrow it down together.
Sketch a small plan (3-5 min). The first two or three steps, and what working together would actually look like week to week.

Close with something specific. Every intro call should end with one concrete actionable and a clear next step, even if that's just "read this, try that, we'll look at it on Tuesday." A mentee who leaves with a task and a date is a mentee who shows up again.

And qualifying goes both ways. If, halfway through, it's clear you're not the right mentor for this person, say so on the call. That's a good outcome, not a failed one.

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Additional insights for 7-day trial

Recommended structure

Our recommendation for the 7-day trial is as follows.

Wait for the mentee to formally start the trial, i.e. put in their payment information
Send a welcome message on the first day, ask some clarifying questions.
Schedule an intro session for anywhere between day 2-5 – your meeting links get shared with
Follow up with some specific actionables for the second call (which should happen AFTER the trial concluded)

Edge case: Ending the trial early

Mentees will be charged at the end of the 7-day trial unless they cancel the mentorship before that.

It’s usually a good idea to give mentees enough space to decide and let the trial end automatically. Sometimes a mutual agreement is reached before the trial period ends, and the mentee is eager to get started. In this case, you can request to complete the trial and dive right in.

Trial FAQs

When should I have the first meeting with my mentee? Before the trial, or during the trial?

Currently, mentees need to provide their payment information to start the trial. Our recommendation is that you do your call with them after this point.

I’ve met my mentee before the trial begins. What do I do with the trial?

Again, this is not our recommended flow, since it can lead to an awkward middle stage. If you’ve already met your mentee before the trial, you could potentially agree with them to end the trial early.

“The mentee ended their trial at the end of the 7 days. They must be trying to scam me and others.”

While it can be disappointing when a mentee chooses to leave, it is their right to do so. We have monitoring systems in place to catch any illicit behavior, but in most cases, the mentee has simply chosen to work with another mentor or leave the platform entirely.

“I’m going to make mentees book a paid intro call with me instead of offering a free call.”

It’s your right to not offer a free call, but we’ve found that pressuring mentees into a paid session often leads to negative outcomes and bad ratings. As a general rule, we recommend offering a free call, with two exceptions:

If the mentee has a short-term goal that is more suitable for a paid one-off session, direct them to that option.
If the mentee is pressuring you to provide additional advice, use the paid one-off session as a tool to say “I typically don’t offer this during the trial, but if you’re interested to dive in, here’s what I can offer instead.”

“A mentee took hours of my time during the trial and then ended, I want to be compensated”

Protect your boundaries and don't let the mentee take up too much of your time! Read through our recommended structure to avoid this.

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📩Qualifying mentees

🎯Productive mentorships

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