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Unconflicted Mentors: Mentors are fundamentally defined as volunteers (uncompensated), motivated purely to give back (no personal gain), and willing to abide by a strict code of conduct to prevent conflict of interest and to assure confidentiality.

Team Mentoring: A powerful, structured methodology that leverages the diverse backgrounds and experiences of a team of mentors, meeting in person with the entrepreneurs at the same time, to deliver superior mentoring experiences for both mentees and mentors.

Formal Operations: Disciplined processes and procedures with professional operational support for program effectiveness and sustainability.

A broad range of organizations serving entrepreneurs have successfully adopted the MIT VMS Model, including universities, economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, business incubators and accelerators, science and technology parks, and research institutions.

Organizations that decide to adopt the MIT VMS Model enter into an agreement with MIT to participate in the Immersion Program and be granted a non-exclusive license for use of the methodology and associated materials, under a one-time fee. The Immersion Program is delivered exclusively to one organization at a time. The non-exclusive license is for the implementation of a local, single mentoring program by the host organization.

The implementation of the MIT VMS Model is a lean effort, but host organizations will need sufficient infrastructure and resources to commit to the necessary level of leadership and operational support. Stakeholder support and financial sustainability are also important considerations.

Adopting the MIT VMS Model presents a unique, compelling, prestigious, rewarding and well-structured mentoring opportunity for experienced business people to give back to their communities.  MIT VMS’s guidelines and best practices have enabled organizations to attract, engage and retain highly qualified and committed volunteer mentors in the most diverse communities around the world.