EO Melbourne Mentorship Program 2026: Starting the Journey with the Right Questions

What happens when you put the right people, the right questions and the right structure around an entrepreneur?

For this year’s EO Melbourne Mentorship Program, the answer began at the Mentorship Launch and Training, where members and Accelerators came together to kick off a 10-month journey of learning, reflection and growth.

Ranked among the top five EO Mentorship Programs globally, the program is one of EO Melbourne’s most valued member experiences and a complimentary benefit of membership. Each year, participants are matched with mentors to provide a trusted sounding board as they navigate the opportunities, challenges and decisions that come with running a growing business.

This year’s launch and training was facilitated by Carlo Santoro, EO Melbourne Member and Past President, who set the tone for the journey ahead. Carlo shared practical handouts, tools and resources to help mentors and mentees make the most of their time together and provide a framework for meaningful conversations throughout the program.

The program brings together two mentoring pathways. EO Melbourne Members participate as mentees and are paired with mentors from outside EO, giving them access to perspectives and experiences beyond the EO community. EO Melbourne Accelerators participate as mentees and are paired with EO Melbourne Members as their mentors, creating an opportunity for Accelerators to learn directly from fellow entrepreneurs who have already navigated many of the challenges that come with building and scaling a business.

At its heart, the program is about creating space for honest, informal conversations between mentors and mentees. The monthly one-hour catch-ups provide an opportunity to talk openly about what is happening in the business, explore challenges, share experiences and work through decisions with someone who brings a fresh perspective.

At the same time, the program is supported by a structured training framework that helps participants get more out of those conversations. The tools and resources introduced at the launch are designed to help mentors and mentees ask better questions, challenge assumptions and turn their conversations into meaningful insights and action.

That balance between structure and connection was evident throughout the launch. Participants embraced the opportunity to meet their mentors, explore the tools they will use over the coming months and learn how to approach mentoring with greater intention. The structured approach also encouraged participants to look beyond their existing assumptions about mentoring and consider how the relationship could evolve as their needs and businesses change.

With the launch complete and the mentor-mentee relationships now underway, the real journey begins. Over the next 10 months, participants will have a dedicated space to step back from the day-to-day, think more deeply about their businesses and themselves, and draw on the experience of someone who can offer a different perspective.

Because sometimes, growth does not come from having all the answers. It comes from having the right person to ask the right questions.