Hi everyone

When we ran our last mentoring programme we had way over 1000 applications and as a part-time team of 1.5 people it was getting impossible to figure out a system to scale that successfully.

So, after running various speed mentoring sessions, longer mentoring, group mentoring and 1-1 mentoring we are ready to test out a new format.

This is for paid subscribers only for now, so we can manage numbers. But, as you know, every paid subscriber helps us gift bursaries, and to date we have shared 40+ bursaries for one-month free newsletter access.

As a tiny, independent, non-funded organisation, this is what we’re able to do to continue our work. We really appreciate your support!

In the meantime, here’s 15% discount for my networking course on Domestika (use code ISABELSACHS-NEWS) and let’s hear from you:

AND NOW: for the mentoring system.

1. Our mentors will share who they are fit to mentor.

2. You complete a quick application form.

3. They select 1-2 people to work with

4. You book a time with them for a one hour mentoring session.

Our first mentors are here

✨ Sara Pintado - Senior Programme Manager | Driving Creative Education & Career Development at D&AD

Sara is a multidisciplinary programme manager and learning experience designer with 8+ years of expertise in leading transformative educational projects and helping talented creatives realise their full potential. Currently, she is driving the award-winning D&AD Shift with Google programme—a free night school designed for self-taught creatives breaking into the advertising, design, and creative industries without traditional education. Running in London, New York, Sydney, Germany, and São Paulo.

Previously, Sara was the Content & Curation Manager at Domestika, where she had the joy of collaborating with an incredible range of talent to develop creative online courses for over 9 million students around the globe. Throughout her career, she has worked with some of the most exciting organisations including Stella McCartney Kids, Amazon, Adidas, Battersea Arts Centre, Mind and Spotify.

In her own words : I am open to mentoring anyone who feels stuck in their career or creatively. Anyone from a photography, arts or design background

✨ Laura García - Journalist, BBC World Service

Laura García is a Mexican multimedia storyteller based in London with a wide range of television and online experience. Currently she's part of the World Service as a social media specialist helping teams launch and grow their vertical video strategy. Before she was a video presenter and producer for BBC Mundo, and a key part of the team that launched and grew bbcnewsmundo on TikTok to 2M followers in a couple of years. Laura spent the first two years of the pandemic as part of the training team at First Draft, a non profit that researches disinformation. She's an incurable nerd who loves cats, books, TikTok, and has always been fascinated with new ways of telling stories, new tech, coding, apps, and even VR/AR.

In her own words: My career has been incredibly zig-zaggy and I know what it's like to start a career in a country and in a language that's not your own. From wedding photography to journalism - I'd love to speak to young people trying to figure out their first steps into any kind of storytelling.

✨ Xann Schwinn – Co-founder & CEO of Biiah, working at the intersection of tech, music, and accessibility.

Creating accessibility to music and ‘singing with others’ has been the strand that ties most of her life’s work together and a core tenet of that has been celebrating and empowering diversity in music.

In her own words: With 20 years working in large scale event and conference production, and 13 years at the intersection of startup tech and the arts, I specialise in helping early-stage creatives build strong foundations, develop strategic clarity, and confidently bring their visions to life.

p.s. if you want to book for some paid sessions with Xann, here’s the link

⬇️ Here’s how to apply ⬇️