My Hero Let a mentor guide you on the path to success while sidestepping the potholes.

There's nothing like having somebody who's been therebefore to show you the entrepreneurial ropes. Do you need help withyour business plan? Want reassurance from someone who'sstruggled through the same startup challenges you'refacing?

When it comes to college entrepreneurship, Alvin Rohrs,president and CEO of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), aSpringfield, Missouri-based nonprofit, says mentors can share themistakes they have made and show you how to avoid making thosemistakes yourself. Mentors can be anyone--from professors andadvisors to local businesspeople. Plenty of universities withentrepreneurial programs put emphasis on mentoring; examplesinclude the Center for Entrepreneurship Program at Loyola MarymountUniversity in Los Angeles and the W.P. Carey School of Business atArizona State University in Tempe.

Brown University is another such school, as student entrepreneurJason Donahue, 23, knows firsthand. In 2003, Donahue; EricShashoua, 23; Samee McDannel, 20; and two other students launchedAxon SleepResearch Laboratories in Providence, Rhode Island. They werealso matched with three university alumni mentors. One mentor is asleep expert, another is a marketing expert and the third is astartup expert. Each mentor brings a unique expertise to help thecompany grow and market the SleepSmart, an intelligent alarm clockthat monitors sleep cycles and wakes people from light sleep.