Glorie Averbach is in the businesses of helping entrepreneurs succeed, literally.  

As co-founder of myCEO, she is a small business consultant and coach, informed by her own dynamic entrepreneurial journey in the tech sector. It was through her work with the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP) at Community Futures B.C. (a Rise partner!) that Glorie first met Vancouver entrepreneur, Heidi Nagtegaal.   

When Heidi joined the Rise Small Business Lending Program, Glorie did too.  

“When Heidi ‘graduated’ to Rise from EDP, [Rise] asked if I’d like to continue to work with them in a new capacity—as a mentor,” Glorie says. “Knowing about Rise and the services and support offered, I didn’t hesitate.” 

According to her mentee, Glorie has helped Heidi create a strong business foundation and understand how best to run their (two) companies for profit and growth.  

“Heidi has a natural entrepreneurial bend and is extremely self-aware, so I hesitate to take any credit for their success,” Glorie says. “In my view, what I’ve helped Heidi with is confidence and self-belief. Coming up with a business idea isn’t hard; executing on it consistently and making money from it is. To do so, you’ve got to believe in your own strength and abilities.” 

Getting to know your mentee and how best to support them from the start of the relationship is the advice Glorie would give to any aspiring mentor.  

“Everyone is unique and that’s important to take into account. For me, this means asking lots of questions to help me get super clear on which personal skillsets and abilities I can draw on to best help my mentee … It’s also very important to be clear on the mentee’s goals. You have to know where they want to go before you can help them get there.”