Gilles De Clerck is a Marketing Mentor at EIA Summer Programs. In 2019, Gilles flew thousands of miles in order to mentor young entrepreneurs working on startup ideas in Italy and Hong Kong. After intense weeks, the Marketing Mentor shared the experience by writing an inspiring story on his LinkedIn profile. 

My dad thinks I’m crazy.

That’s because I put paid projects on hold to mentor students building startups with European Innovation Academy in Italy. Unpaid. When I was about to pack to go to Italy, one of the Program Managers called: “We’re a mentor short for Hong Kong. It starts the week after Italy…”

I didn’t even let him finish the sentence: “I’ll do it.”

As you can imagine, my clients were not excited when I told them I’d be unavailable for not one, but two weeks. “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”

But I’m not doing it for free.

There’s no secret for growing products. Anyone can know what I know. You just have to either spend time studying on the Internet or invest money to follow an expensive course.

What you can’t copy is my experience of working with more than 100 startups as if they were my own.

My clients were unhappy for the same reason that made them want to work with me in the first place. You forget what you read. You may remember what you’re taught. But you’ll certainly learn what you experience.

Besides, as a rookie, I get to play along with other mentors from all walks of life and business with 10 times my experience.

As Newton would say: “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” The best “thank you” I can give to my giants is to do the same for others. And hope to inspire a few young souls to go further than they thought they could.

About Gilles De Clerck

Gilles De Clerck helps companies to identify the most relevant strategies for driving revenue growth and assist them in the effective execution of those strategies. The Growth Specialist worked with Small and Big Companies, but have a soft spot for startups. De Clerck is a mentor at Founder’s Institute, Startup Wise Guys and European Innovation Academy. At EIA, Gilles de Clerck is also a keynote speaker on growth strategy, user acquisition, and user activation.