How StartOut Scaled Mentorship for LGBTQ+ Founders and Allies with Mentorloop
with Allison Wright
Director of Education at StartOut
Mentorloop Impact Award Winner 2025
It’s been truly transformative to re-launch our Mentorship Program on Mentorloop just over a year ago. With 600 mentors in our network and an average of 25–50 new mentees joining each month, we knew we needed a platform that could do more than scale operations—it had to align with our mission of equipping LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and allies with the knowledge, expertise, and industry experience they need to build and grow their startups.
Mentorloop has exceeded those expectations in every way. The platform not only streamlined matching, but also created space for genuine connection and growth.
This journey has been a joy, and the results speak for themselves: more engaged mentors, more empowered mentees, and a stronger, more resilient entrepreneurial community.
StartOut is a nonprofit dedicated to elevating the success of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and their allies. Through programs, education, and mentorship, StartOut equips founders with the knowledge, networks, and industry experience they need to grow and scale their businesses.
"We focus on building programs that equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and expertise they need to be more successful as they grow and scale their businesses.”
The Challenge: A Program Outgrowing Its Manual Roots
For seven years, StartOut’s mentoring program was run by manually matching mentors and founders. At first, this worked well — but as interest exploded, the process couldn’t keep up with their ambitions.
- Average match times ballooned to 60 days
- The team couldn’t serve the fast-growing pipeline of mentees and mentors.
- Manual matching made it harder to ensure high-quality connections.
- Program directors lacked visibility into how pairs were working together.
- Data and insights on program impact were hard to capture
“We had more people interested in mentorship than we could serve. We needed to improve match times, improve quality, and gain better insights into how pairs were working together.”
More Mentors, More Learning, More Growth
Switching to Mentorloop gave StartOut the infrastructure to modernise and scale its mentoring program.
- Match times dropped from 60 days to just one day.
- Self-driven matching empowered mentors and mentees to choose who excites them — improving quality and ownership.
- Immediate feedback loops through post-meeting highlights let program directors see how participants are feeling, not just how often they meet.
- More diverse mentor base thanks to easier access and visibility
- A simple, familiar user experience that feels intuitive — more like a social network than a clunky admin tool.
"Relaunching on Mentorloop has been completely transformational — not just for the mentoring program, but for us as an organisation levelling up our tech and impact.”
The Impact: Changing Businesses - and Lives 🌟
For StartOut’s founders, mentorship is about more than business growth — it’s about connection, confidence, and being seen.
Mentors have helped founders:
- Secure funding and refine their pitch decks
- Practice presentation and pitching skills
- Navigate HR challenges and team scaling
- Build solid go-to-market strategies
- Finally achieve product-market fit
These aren’t just professional wins, they’re life-changing moments.
“We hear every day from founders that mentorship didn’t just change their business — it changed their life.
For LGBTQ+ founders and allies, the value isn’t only in expertise. It’s in feeling heard, having a safe resource, and knowing someone has your back.”
Why Mentorloop Works for StartOut 🛠️
Beyond matching, Mentorloop has been a game-changer for Allison and her team:
- Simple UX makes connecting easy and intuitive for busy founders and mentors.
- Dashboards and data give program managers clarity and insight.
- Centralised resources help mentors and mentees access what they need quickly.
- Responsive support and feedback loops with Mentorloop’s product team — shaping updates that directly improve the program.
What’s Next for the StartOut Mentoring Program 🚀
StartOut has just upgraded to Mentorloop Enterprise, unlocking new opportunities to expand and refine the program.
The team is excited to:
- Customise sign-up flows for smarter, more targeted matches.
- Host webinars with Mentorloop to help participants make the most of the platform.
- Integrate smart matching for even higher-quality connections.
- Grow the mentor network and engage more LGBTQ+ founders and allies.
“Only great things await. I’m really excited to shift onto Enterprise and for all the growth we’re going to have subsequently in our program.”
Allison's Advice to Future Program Coordinators:
Inclusive Mentorship at Scale
For LGBTQ+ founders and allies, mentorship is more than advice — it’s a lifeline of connection, confidence, and being seen.
With Mentorloop, StartOut has turned a manual program into a scalable, inclusive, and transformational experience that changes both businesses and lives.
Ready to scale your mentoring program and deliver transformational impact?
Allison Wright
Director of Education at StartOut
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"Mentorloop delivers a high-quality experience for a really reasonable price. It feels like it has a soul, not just an algorithm — and that makes a big difference.”
– Director of Education at StartOut
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