Latest / The Career Mentor Podcast with Fexingo: Finding Mentors, Sponsors, and Career Advisors / How to Find a Mentor When You Are a New Investor
Transcript
- Lucas: So you're early in your investing journey — maybe you've bought your first ETF, or you're looking at a duplex in a neighbourhood you barely know — and you realize pretty quickly that you need someone who's done this before to talk to. Luna: But here's the problem that comes up again and again in the questions we get: 'I don't feel credible enough to ask for help. I have nothing to offer in return.' Lucas: Right. That feeling is almost universal, and it's exactly what we're drilling into today. This is episode 69 of The Career Mentor Podcast, and the angle is: finding a mentor when you're a new investor — whether that's stocks, real estate, or even angel investing. Luna: We have a specific case. A listener named Priya — 28, works in marketing at a mid-sized tech company in Austin. She wanted to learn real estate investing, but she felt like everyone in her network who did that was either a boomer with three decades of experience or a finance bro who'd dismiss her as 'not serious.' Lucas: And her instinct was to wait. She told us she thought she needed to 'get ready' — read some books, save up a down payment, maybe even buy a property first — before she could approach someone. That's a trap. Luna: Because by then you've missed the chance to learn from their mistakes. You might buy a property with the wrong financing or overlook a termite issue that a seasoned investor would catch in ten minutes. Lucas: Exactly. So let's talk about how Priya actually broke into it. She didn't go to a random landlord. She identified a specific person: her boss's former colleague, a woman named Diane who owned a dozen rental units in San Antonio and had a reputation for being generous with her time. Luna: What was the initial ask? Because that's usually where people stumble. Lucas: She asked for twenty minutes. Not an hour, not a lunch. She said, 'I'd love to buy you a coffee for twenty minutes and ask three questions about how you got your first property.' She sent that in a LinkedIn message, and Diane said yes. Luna: Twenty-minute ask — low risk, specific, and time-boxed. I think a lot of people over-ask because they're nervous. They think they need to offer something in return, so they offer a full lunch or a favor they can't deliver. Lucas: And then they get ghosted. Priya's ask worked because it was respectful of Diane's time and it gave Diane an easy out. If she was busy, she could say no without guilt. But she said yes, and that coffee turned into a second conversation where Priya showed her a spreadsheet of her personal finances and asked Diane to critique it. Luna: That's a big step. Most people would be too embarrassed to show their numbers to someone experienced. But Priya essentially said, 'I'm not pretending to know what I'm doing. Help me see where I'm naive.' Lucas: And Diane responded to that honesty. She didn't mock Priya's budget or tell her she wasn't ready. She pointed out that Priya had too much cash sitting in a savings account earning next to nothing, and she suggested a strategy for building a down payment faster using a high-yield account plus a small side hustle. That advice alone probably saved Priya a year of saving. Luna: But this wasn't a traditional mentor — it was more like a sponsor-lite, right? Diane ended up introducing Priya to a mortgage broker and a real estate agent she trusted. Lucas: That's the key. Priya's third ask was: 'Would you be open to introducing me to your lender and your agent? I trust your judgment, and I'd rather start with people you vouch for.' Diane said yes to that too. And that's the transition from mentor to sponsor — someone who uses their network to open doors for you. Luna: I want to push back on something, though. There's a common idea that you need to find a mentor who's already succeeded in the exact path you want. But what if the only people available are investors who made their money in a bull market? Is that advice still valuable? Lucas: That's a great question. If someone bought a rental in 2010 when prices were at the bottom and interest rates were low, their success might be more about timing than skill. But I'd argue you can still learn from them — you just have to ask different questions. Instead of 'How did you pick that property?' ask 'What would you do differently if you were starting today in this market?' Or 'What mistake did you make that cost you the most money?' Luna: That's a smart reframe. You're testing whether they have principles or just luck. If they can't articulate a mistake, they might not be the best mentor. Lucas: Exactly. Priya actually did that with Diane. She asked Diane about a property she'd sold at a loss in 2018, and Diane gave a ten-minute answer about tenant screening and cap rates. That's when Priya knew this was someone who'd thought deeply about her business. Luna: So for someone listening who's a new investor — maybe in stocks, maybe in crypto, maybe in a side business — what's the actionable first step? Should they find a person like Diane? Lucas: Yes, but with a specific search strategy. Look for someone who's about five to ten years ahead of you. Not a billionaire, not a thirty-year veteran. Someone who remembers what it was like to not know. And then use that twenty-minute coffee ask with three prepared questions. I'll give you a template: question one — 'What was the first investment you made that you're proud of?' Question two — 'What was the first investment you made that you regret?' Question three — 'If you had to start over with my savings level today, what's the first move you'd make?' Luna: Those questions are good because they're specific, they ask for a story, and they don't put the mentor on the spot to give generic advice. I think that template alone could double someone's response rate. Lucas: Priya's cold email had about a forty percent response rate among the five people she reached out to. Two out of five said yes. That's actually high because she targeted people who'd already mentored others publicly — on podcasts, at meetups, or in articles. Luna: So look for people who have a track record of teaching. That's a big unlock. Not just successful investors, but successful investors who write or speak. Lucas: Right. And then — this is the part people rush — follow up with a specific update three months later. Priya sent Diane a short email saying 'I used your advice, I bought my first duplex, here's the cap rate I got, thank you.' That kind of update makes the mentor feel invested in your success, and it often leads to ongoing conversations. Luna: You know, this episode is exactly the kind of practical help we try to offer every week. And if it's made a difference for you — if today's conversation was worth a coffee to you — there's a link at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's one way listeners keep this show ad-free and focused on real stories. Lucas: Yeah, listener support is what lets us keep drilling into specific cases like Priya's instead of chasing headlines. We really appreciate it. Luna: Okay, back to the topic. I want to end with one more thing: what about the scenario where you can't find anyone in your immediate network? Say you're investing in a niche like agricultural land or private equity. Lucas: Then you go broader. Look for online communities — forums, Substack newsletters, Twitter threads — where serious investors share their thinking. Engage thoughtfully in those spaces for a few weeks, then send a direct message referencing a specific post they made. The same twenty-minute ask works, even if you've never met them in person. Luna: And if they say no? Lucas: Ask for a referral to someone else. 'I understand you're busy. Is there one person you'd recommend I talk to?' That sometimes works better than the original ask because it's even lower effort for the mentor. Priya got one of her introductions that way. Luna: So the takeaway: don't wait until you're 'ready.' Find someone five to ten years ahead, ask for twenty minutes with three specific story-based questions, and then follow up with a real update. That's the pattern. Lucas: And if you do that, you'll not only get investing advice — you'll build a relationship that could open doors for years. That's the real return on mentorship.