Event Recap: Invest in Equity Mentorship Program Launch
3 February 2026 | Hosted by Cooley
Building the conditions for progress
When Invest in Equity launched, building a mentorship programme was one of our core priorities. We know that progression in investment is shaped not only by capability, but by access, sponsorship, and sustained support over time.
Sponsorship remains hugely valuable throughout a career. However, mentorship opportunities often become harder to find as professionals advance, even as decisions become more complex and the stakes higher. With few structures in place to advocate for and support women at this stage of their careers, we intentionally set out to build something to help address this gap.
Our inaugural mentorship cohort is comprised of ten partner-track women. We have carefully matched them with senior managing partners at life science and healthtech funds, as well as senior executives from biopharma. This approach is about accelerating women into senior partner-level roles, while laying the foundations for a systemic shift in how talent is recognised, supported, and advanced across life sciences investing. We are deeply grateful to our mentors for their generosity in giving their time, insight, and support to our mentees.
To support our cohort on their journey, we convened in London on a rainy February evening to create space for open, candid discussion around leadership, mentorship, and career progression. The event was held under Chatham House Rule, enabling open and honest dialogue.
We are grateful to our speakers, Kate, Elisa, and Giulia, for their time, thoughtfulness, and leadership in creating the conditions for such a meaningful exchange, and to Cooley for hosting the event and providing generous support.
The evening surfaced a number of recurring themes that will continue to shape how we think about mentorship and progression.
Key themes from the evening
1. What mentorship is and is not
A central theme of the discussion was the importance of being clear about the role mentorship plays, and the boundaries that make it effective.
Mentorship is:
Guidance from someone experienced in the path you want to pursue
Context-sharing and the demystification of systems, decision-making, and progression
The sharing of real-world examples, including what worked and what did not
Confidence-building through reflection, practice, advocacy, and encouragement
A two-way relationship in which mentors also learn, reflect, and grow
Mentorship is not:
Line management or performance evaluation
Coaching, which typically centres on structured self-discovery without lived experience
Therapy or counselling
Consulting or a source of free problem-solving
Clear boundaries were consistently highlighted as essential to avoiding confusion and frustration on either side.
2. What makes mentorship effective
The discussion reinforced that effective mentorship is intentional rather than incidental.
For both mentors and mentees, this includes:
Clarity of goals, knowing what you want support with and articulating it
Preparation and presence, showing up focused, engaged, and respectful of the time invested
Trust and psychological safety, creating space for honest reflection
Clear expectations set early, including cadence, format, and scope
Follow-through, applying insights between sessions and reflecting back on what worked
A consistent message was that mentees must actively drive the relationship. Mentors are guides and sounding boards, not engines.
3. Listening over imitation
Another strong theme was the distinction between learning from a mentor and trying to replicate them.
Mentees should not aim to emulate mentors, but adapt lessons to their own context, strengths, and ambitions
The most valuable mentoring moments come from deep listening and reflection, rather than prescriptive advice
Mentors offer perspectives rather than rules
This approach allows mentorship to support individual growth rather than impose a single definition of success.
4. Handling misalignment
The group also explored the reality that not all mentor–mentee matches work, and that this is both normal and manageable.
Early signals of misalignment may include lack of commitment, unclear expectations, or requests that drift into consulting
Allowing relationships to drift can be more damaging than addressing misfit directly
Open and candid conversations early on help protect the integrity of the relationship and the wider programme
Ending or reshaping a mentoring relationship was framed not as failure, but as part of a healthy and respectful process.
5. The deeper message
Across the evening, a deeper message emerged. Mentorship is ultimately about access, belief, and permission.
Access to rooms, networks, and opportunities that shape progression
Belief that senior leadership and decision-making roles are attainable
Permission to take risks, make mistakes, and define success on one’s own terms
Creating space for these conversations, and supporting them with structure and sponsorship, is central to building a more equitable and resilient investment ecosystem.
Looking ahead
The themes that emerged over the evening reinforced why mentorship must be treated as a long-term commitment rather than a one-off intervention. Creating systemic change requires sustained engagement, trust, and a willingness to challenge established norms around progression and leadership.
As our inaugural cohort embarks on the year ahead, we hope the relationships formed through the programme will provide not only guidance and advocacy, but also confidence and momentum. Over time, our ambition is that these connections contribute to a broader cultural shift, where access to mentorship and sponsorship at senior levels becomes the norm rather than the exception.
If you are interested in receiving mentorship, or in becoming a mentor to the next cohort, we will be opening applications for our next cohort in August 2026. You can find more information on our website or sign up to our newsletter to stay informed.