Dear mentees, dear mentors, dear friends,
Six years ago we started the Mentoring Club with one simple idea: that knowledge, experience and time shouldn't be a privilege. That everyone should be able to find a person who has already walked the path — no matter where in the world, no matter where they come from.
Today, after six years, we have to tell you: we will not be continuing the Mentoring Club. And as heavy as that sentence is — we write it with a smile. Because what is ending here was beautiful. And every ending makes room for something new.
Let's take a moment to look at what we built together: almost 50,000 mentoring sessions. More than 20,000 people from 170 countries. A real, global community. The value of these sessions — measured against what comparable coaching would cost — is well over 5 million euros. We gave it away, because we believed in the idea.
Honestly, that was also our greatest challenge. Over all that time, less than 15,000 euros was ever paid for all of these sessions combined. We tried different payment models so the Club could sustain itself — in the end, the math didn't add up. As founders, we invested many thousands of hours of our free time and a good part of our own savings. It was worth every minute and every euro — but it can't be sustained forever.
We leave without bitterness. On the contrary: we leave grateful. Grateful for every mentor who gave their time. Grateful for every mentee who had the courage to ask for help. Grateful for every message, every story, every career leap, every idea that began here. You turned a website into a movement.
We are incredibly proud of what was. Of the people who dared to take their first step here. Of the careers that found their turning point here. Of the friendships that crossed continents. All of that remains — even as the platform goes.
What happens now? The platform will be shut down over the coming weeks. We have already stopped all automated reminders and notifications. The connections you made here belong to you — keep nurturing them, entirely without us in between. That is how it was always meant to be.
Mentoring does not stop today. It lives on — in every conversation you have, in every hand you reach out, in every person you pass on to what someone once gave you. That was the real Mentoring Club all along.
Thank you for being part of it.
With love and pride,
Bastian, Sebastian & Jessica
