Earlier this year, between 19th - 23rd February the second Enpact StartUp Mentoring camp happenend at the Maasai Lodge in Nairobi, Kenya. This is the second of two camps between Berlin and Nairobi, scheduled to happen in the duration of an 8-month long StartUp Mentoring Program.

If you haven't read On Starting The Enpact Entrepreneurship Program, be sure to read it before proceeding.For you, here from the first installment of this series, lets proceed.

Similar to the first, the camp was full of features designed to maximize impact for both the entrepreneurs and mentors participating in the program. We were treated to more one-on-one sessions between entrepeneurs and mentors, a flip of the mentor speed dating we had entrepreneurs speed dating which, as I have hinted, had the mentors choosing entrepreneurs for a 20-minute one-on-one speed mentoring session.

For more relaxing activities, the second trip-to-the-town session treated us to a nature walk to a glass factory. We walked in a segment of the national park, enjoying its all-natural terrain which gave a hike feel to it the entire time.

Although this second camp comes months after my business spectacularly failed, I went into it with the hopes of understanding the mistakes I made and how they eventually led to the demise of my venture. After the first one-on-one session with my mentor, Christopher Kaalund, it became clear.

Success is a process, so also is failure. Its not a cataclysmic event that strikes in a day. Failure is a pile of one neglect on top of another until eventually it's called failure.

It was a lesson perfectly timed. Although this was my first venture, I had high expectations for its performance. Its a vision that will remain close to my heart for its customer centrist outlook. In the time since I started my venture I've learnt alot, cultivated new skills and found new passions.

As I focus on the new skills and passions I'm cultivating, I do not intend to stay away from the entrepreneurs journey for very long. Regardless of the state of my business at the time of the camp I ensured I got all that I could from all the features of the mentoring camp. I looked for opportunities to interact with all the partcipants, I listened for great lessons and observed for great examples.

Of all the lessons I will cherish most, here are a few that might be beneficial for you too:

• Take your time with your team selections - Launching a startup is hard but its hardly a one person show. It was critical for me and it will be for you too to take all the time to assemble your avengers team. Critical roles that will require extra vigilance from you is your choice of co-founder, technical lead and marketers. Also be sure to surround yourself with people who believe in you and your company. Build a great team of mentors, advisors, friends, family and employees.
• If underperforming, avoid overworking - Although tackling each business aspect on your own is a good way to learn the ins-and-outs of your business, in the end you’re crippling your progress, your productivity and ultimately the success of your business. If you've taken the first step to heart, this suggestion will be easier for you. Learn to delegate more work to team members, or hire contractors to take the load off your plate. Many times you’ll find someone who’s more efficient and better-skilled at a certain task than you could ever be.
• Take time off as frequently as possible - As my business was winding down, I found I had alleianated my friends, family, community. Although this is sometimes listed as a side-effect of entrepreneurship, its important to try to break out of the habit of isolation. The first step towards separating your personal and business time, is to physically divide them. You can start by opening separate business email accounts and even a new office space. Next step requires you to make sure friends and family know your working hours, do not disturb hours and personal time.

Ultimately, there are alot of things I could do differently if given another chance. As long as that is not happening, I will hold true to all the lessons learnt in my entrepreneurial journey. I'm excited by my new passion for bots, protocols and other distributed systesm and I can't wait to see how this evolves with time.