The Cru's Acquisition of Mentor Method - Behind the Scenes with the Founders
Tiffany Dufu is the founder of The Cru, and Janice Omadeke is the founder of Mentor Method. The Cru recently acquired Mentor Method and we spoke with them about this exciting news!
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Tiffany Dufu is a women's leadership expert and sought-after public speaker. She is the Founder and CEO of The Cru and author of the bestselling book, Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less. She was included in Entrepreneur's 100 Powerful Women and Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, and served as Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, the fastest-growing millennial professional network.
You can listen to more from Tiffany in her interview with Forbe’s Diane Brady
Janice Omadeke is a future of work and mentorship expert, public speaker, and the first Black woman in Austin’s history to have a tech exit. She was in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Women of Influence 2022, Forbes Next 1000, and Ebony Magazine’s Millennial Leaders to Watch.
Tell us the mission behind your companies.
Tiffany: The Cru exists to help women realize their life intentions; and as an enterprise solution, does so by helping businesses and organizations retain their mid-career women talent through scalable peer coaching and tailored content designed to accelerate Her personal and professional goals.
Janice: Mentor Method is a nextgen mentorship software that works to increase the retention, engagement, and leadership development of talented and diverse employees.
You’ve both been pioneering the future of work, explain more about how your companies are part of this new shift?
Tiffany: There’s a lot of discourse about “fixing” workers, but in reality, companies know they need to change too. It’s no longer enough for employees to exist within the limitations of a job description or “the way things were.” What I’ve learned is that people at work want three things: meaning, advancement, and integration. The average American works 40 hours/week and finding meaning in the time and effort spent is essential to personal wellness. Advancement doesn’t only mean promotions and raises; it includes being given the opportunity and environment to grow, learn, and evolve as a person. When the pandemic happened it blew up the idea of work-life balance and introduced the desire and opportunity for work-life integration. Employees don’t want to go back to having two personas – the work one and the personal one – instead, they want to be seen holistically. They’re saying, “you care about all of me, so invest in all of me.” That’s why The Cru has engineered a scalable peer coaching model that allows companies to pour into the underserved, mid-career women at their organizations and advance their talent both personally and professionally.
Janice: We’re helping leaders intentionally retain their talent and go beyond surface level retention tools. TheCru and The Mentor Method create long-lasting relations and offer leadership development aligned to how professionals relate to work now and in the future.
Joining forces is a powerful combo, please share more about the process of coming together.
Tiffany: This partnership is a continuation of my life's work to advance women. Janice and I were introduced by a mutual investor because of our shared mission and target market. Once we met and got to talking, it felt like an organic next step to bring our companies together.
Janice: Jenny Fielding introduced us and I immediately knew Tiffany was the right partner to continue the mission for an equitable workforce.
What are you most excited about with the acquisition?
Tiffany: The Cru is going to benefit greatly from Janice’s energy and innovative thinking as an advisor and I'm thrilled to take her mission of giving opportunities to the underestimated to the next level. Janice had also built a team that we’re excited to onboard at The Cru, and who’ve already started elevating our corporate partnership initiatives and increasing our reach into our target market, so that’s really inspiring. I’m excited for what’s to come.
Janice: The mission of creating a more equitable workforce continues through The Cru. There’s more work to be done through technology solutions, The Cru, and through leadership in a larger corporate or venture environment. I continue to use my voice and experience as a leader in multiple intersections to explore full time career opportunities in an exciting new chapter.
How would you describe one another?
Tiffany: Janice is a visionary. It’s been a joy to collaborate with another Black woman entrepreneur who’s also focused on championing diversity in the workplace.
Janice: Tiffany is the definition of sponsorship and authentic leadership, personified.
Read more from Tiffany Dufu in Founders Everywhere.