Frequently asked questions

Introductory content...

COURSES, LEARNING COMMUNITY PLATFORM

I haven’t yet received my email for the Learning Community on my new Gmail account, what should I do ?

  • If you haven't received the email for the Learning Community on your new Gmail account, here are some steps you can take:First, check your spam folder, as the invitation might have been mistakenly filtered there.
  • If you still can't locate the email, visit https://learn.bevisioneers.world/  and click the "Forgot your password?" option on the login button. This will allow you to reset your password and gain access to your account.
  • If both options don't resolve the issue, it's best to contact the support team for further assistance. You can communicate with them by sending an email to program@bevisioneers.world.

By following these steps, you should be able to address the issue and gain access to the Learning Community. Good luck, and we hope you enjoy your experience in the program!

Where can the live recordings be found?

The recordings of the group meetings will be conveniently available on the beVisioneers Learning Community platform. After each session, you can find the recordings automatically uploaded in their respective modules within the community. It's important to note that this rule applies to all sessions except for the opening session.For the opening session recording, you can access it specifically in the "Announcements" group. 

I’m still thinking about my planet-positive idea. What if I am looking at two projects and need a separate kind of support?

It is absolutely fine to have doubts. Within the first months of the Fellowship program, you will learn new skills and mindsets that will help you on not only your current project, but also in the future when you tackle a new idea. We want you to be a resourceful DOer who takes action in the face of any challenge you’re passionate about! For example, you’ll learn how to understand the underlying cause of the problem you’re tackling, how to test what solutions might work best, and how to develop a viable business model and storytelling strategy to sustain your project. These are skills that you can apply to any project. You can always ask for additional support from your beVisioneers support ecosystem: your peers, mentor, venture coach, and guest experts.

OTHER DIGITAL TOOLS

Is travel perk only used for summits or can one use it for business purposes?

TravelPerk is intended to facilitate the travel required to join official beVisioneers summit events (Regional Summits, Global Summit by invitation). It can not be used for any other purpose.

How long will we have access to the beVisioneers email? Will it be longer than the 12 months?

The beVisioneers email will only be available during the Fellowship’s intensive program, until June 2024. After that point, we will contact you through the email address we have for you on file and through the Ambassadors Community within the beVisioneers Learning Community.

FELLOWS’ PROFILES

Will our profiles be shared with each other?

Fellows profiles are visible on the beVisioneers Learning Community, our official learning platform. Additionally, we will put together a packet of fellow bios and aim to have your photo searchable on the website.

Can we get a brief on other Fellows’ projects?

In addition to the packet of fellow bios that you will receive before the Regional Summit, we welcome you to share and exchange on your projects on the beVisioneers Learning Community. Fellows with projects tackling a similar environment issue will be connected in environmental “zone” chat groups on the beVisioneers Learning Community. Through Venture Coaching sessions, Regional Summits, and Local Hub gatherings, you will also have chances to dive into one another’s projects and see how you can best support one another’s success.

Will our profiles be put up on the website to enhance credibility?

Yes, eventually you will all be visible on the website. We will let you know the plans later this year.

COMMS

Are we able to mention our membership to this program when trying to raise funds, i.e. in a pitch deck?

Yes, but if mentioning Mercedes-Benz, ensure the context is correct, i.e “Funded by Mercedes-Benz.” Do not explicitly state or implicitly give the impression that this is a Mercedes-Benz program or that Mercedes-Benz is actively designing and implementing the Fellowship.Additionally, please do not use images from Mercedes-Benz, including their logo or branding. You may refer to the Fellowship program as “beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship”.

MENTORS

How will I be matched with a mentor?

Mentor-mentees matches are determined by an algorithm following a combination of criteria including location, zone of interest and skills. We took everything in your application into account.

Who are the mentors?

Mentors are seasoned professionals working in engineering, agriculture, business development and other relevant sectors who have experience and/or training in impact mentoring or coaching. Many are from Mercedes but not all. They have all applied personally to the fellowship as mentor, have been preselected and then matched. They have all committed to dedicate 15-20 hours over the course of 12 months. Most of them live and/or work in one of the nine countries of the fellowship’s first year (India, South Africa, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Spain or the UK)

Will I be matched with a mentor that speaks the same language and lives in the same time zone as myself?

In most cases yes, there will be some exceptions if a fellow does not have a good match in the same region.

What does mentoring look like?

Mentoring will happen online through the dedicated beVisioneers platform, usually for one hour of guided conversation in the last week of the month. Mentors will have access to a series of optional tools (feedback tools, case studies, career development conversations, etc) for their work with the fellow and the beVisioneers team will provide guided conversation guides every month. You will have your own conversation with the mentor within the platform and will set expectations and exercises together.

Mentors are here to help you grow as a person and a leader, venture coaches are here to help with your project.

Can I change mentors?

As a rule no, you have been matched for a reason and mentoring is a relationship that need to be developed.

Can I reach out to other mentors?

Your dedicated mentor has made a time commitment to contribute to your development. You will be able to search for and contact other mentors to ask for one-off feedback or review but they are in no obligation to help you. We would recommend you reach out to your mentor and venture coaches first.

VENTURE COACHES

Can fellows bring their team members to venture coaching group meetings/office hours?

No, venture coaching group sessions are limited to fellows only. This is because productive interaction with everyone will otherwise be trickier to manage and to be useful for all fellows. For office hours we will need to still confirm this with the venture coaches.Mentor-mentees matches are determined by an algorithm following a combination of criteria including location, zone of interest and skills. We took everything in your application into account.

Are fellows allowed to reach out to other venture coaches that were not assigned to them?

No, not at this point in time. All venture coaches will be co-delivering live sessions based on their expertise. Also all venture coaches are closely in touch with each other, so if your venture coach thinks it is key for the progress of your project to speak with another venture coach he/she will facilitate that connection. 

Are fellows legally protected (e.g. confidentiality)?

Yes, fellows are fully legally protected. All venture coaches are bound by the confidentiality clause in their contract. We do encourage fellows to collaborate amongst each other, but will also revisit this point in the new fellowship contract currently being drafted. 

Can venture coaches host topic-based office hours that are open to all fellows?

Yes, this should be linked to learning content and live sessions. We will assess demand for different topics and how prevalent they are across all venture coaching groups and will then decide as a venture coaching team on how best to support fellows with these topics. 

What are the opportunities for different venture coaching groups to collaborate?

Yes, there are lots of opportunities to collaborate across the full cohort. We are not planning to match specific venture coaching groups, but all collaborations between individual or self-organized groups of fellows are highly welcome. Beyond venture coaching groups you will have experienced that we connect everyone through live sessions, the online community, local hubs. Yes, this should be linked to learning content and live sessions. We will assess demand for different topics and how prevalent they are across all venture coaching groups and will then decide as a venture coaching team on how best to support fellows with these topics. 

Can we choose our venture coach?

No, we've handpicked our coaches on multiple parameters so that you have the best fit. And each of the coaches are exceptionally talented and the coaches will connect with the other venture coaches so everyone gets the best of the shared wisdom too.

What were the criteria used to group fellows?

We have split up the full cohort into overall 10 groups of 10-11 fellows each. A few aspects guided us in how groups were put together based on the information you provided in the baseline survey and your initial application: maturity stage of the project (we have one group where everyone has stated that people are using their product or service already; then we have 2 groups testing their prototypes with users and 7 groups that are at ideation stage); for idea stage we then created 7 groups of fellows based on thematic areas or approaches while also finding a good cross-regional and gender balance. Venture coaches were then matched with these groups based on background and skills as much as possible.
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