It was May 2014 and my second year History degree exams at The University of Sheffield were on the horizon. Aside from talk of revision notes and mindmaps, the question bouncing around was “what are you doing when you graduate?” I had no idea – which didn’t help with the exam stress!
That summer I spent my time talking to as many people as possible, searching for an epiphany moment. One conversation gave me the guidance I needed. Little did I know, a friend’s advice that I would suit a project management role, would shape the next 4 years of my life. I committed to finding trainee roles in that area, which led to a short career as a Project Manager at Xerox and then BT.
Over that time I would run into personal and professional challenges and turn to the same solution; talk to people. Family, friends, colleagues, senior management – trying to find the right person at the right time. My Dad, Graham, was always the first port of call.
It was then Christmas time in 2018. Sat around the dinner table, chatting about my career with Dad over a beer. Upon reflection, it became clear that all of the brilliant people I had met through my journey were mentors to me. We had talked for a few years about how we could help other people using our joint professional networks. It was then we had the idea of an online mentoring and coaching platform.
That conversation set off a chain of events: designing, building and implementing this very platform. We have dedicated our time to present excellent mentors and coaches to the world, in a modern, tech-enabled fashion. Rather than waiting to bump into the right person, we want people to take advantage of this connected world and choose that specific person themselves.
The value of mentoring and coaching is globally understood but access to it is often based on chance or company and institution membership. Not at Wiseup. Your future is just a few clicks and conversations away.
Joe Wood, Co-Founder of Wiseup
