In Good Company

By opening the doors of recently retired executives to young professionals, Christine Ing’s mentoring service is bridging the executive generation gap.

photo: Mike Coots

About two years ago, Christine Ing began reading a lot of self-help books in her efforts to do some real “soul-searching.” The 37-year-old had just decided to move on from her career as vice president of a local dental group to run her own business, and she was having a difficult time choosing a business idea. She brainstormed several ideas, from edible flowers to goat farms to franchises, and then remembered some invaluable advice she’d received, to do what she was most passionate about. That’s where the books came in. “I read a bunch of them,” she says, “because I just wanted to find something I really loved doing.”

In the end, though, it wasn’t the books that inspired her bold new business idea, a formal business mentoring service that pairs seasoned executives with younger professionals. For that, Ing wholeheartedly credits the Pacific Century Fellows, a leadership program designed to introduce Hawaii’s young movers and shakers to their senior counterparts, while also exposing them to various community issues. As a former fellow, Ing learned the importance of bridging different generations of leaders in order to build better communities. In May, she launched the business, called Ingage, from her new home on Kauai, which she shares with her husband, Chip, and their infant son, Zach.

HB: So you wanted to do something you’re passionate about, and you ended up starting a mentorship program?
CI: Well, I love gerontology. My undergrad degree is in biology and I have an MBA from UH, but I also earned a graduate degree in gerontology in San Francisco, and I loved that program. After I graduated, I worked for senior centers and nursing homes, taking care of older adults in the end stages of their lives. So on one end, I knew I wanted to do something with seniors. Then on the other end, I really enjoyed the Pacific Century Fellows program. I just saw so much value in the program and learned so much from all the leaders we met. I recall a handful of people talking about their relationships with their mentors. They said that they had mentors that really helped guide them in the right direction. Afterwards, I thought, ‘I don’t really have any mentors.’ My [former] boss was a mentor, but not really. So I basically brought my two ideas together, pairing recently retired business professionals with younger business professionals who are working their way up the career ladder.

HB: How does Ingage work?
CI: We hire the mentors and create profiles with their backgrounds, their pictures and what they’re going to mentor on. Then their profile goes on our Web site and can be sorted based on industry or topic. The protégé or potential customer peruses the profiles, then depending on what they want their mentoring to be on, can choose the mentor that fits their need.

For mentors, I chose to work with recently retired business professionals. And the ones that we have signed on are really excited about this opportunity, because retirement was great for them, but they want to stay involved in the community. They still want to give back, without working a full-time job and without having to learn brand-new skills.

HB: What are the costs?
CI: We offer four programs: One month, three months, six months and 12 months. The duration is determined by the mentor. In general, when you’re choosing a topic that’s very broad, like leadership or career development, it takes longer to build the relationship. But if you’re focusing on a specific skill or competency, like budgeting or sales and marketing, it’s more of a short-term program. Costs range from $1,400 for a one-month program, up to $12,000 for a 12-month program.

HB: Informal mentoring takes place quite often, most times at no cost. Why will people pay for the service?
CI: When I got my first employees, I went to a one-day supervisory training workshop. Very general in nature, not really specific to how am I going to coach this person and make sure I’m doing the right thing to supervise this individual. Then when I took on [a vice president position], it involved everything from reading and interpreting financials to sales and marketing and operations. Where do you go to get help on this topic or issue? In some cases, younger executives don’t even want to ask for help. You’re in this position; you’re supposed to know this kind of stuff. I felt I really could’ve used a mentor as I was working my way up in different positions. I thought I could find my own mentor, but the individuals I’d want to mentor me were still working. It’s hard for me, with my Asian background, and coming from my family, to ask for help, knowing that people are busy. And I figured if I was feeling this way, others were, too.

So I hired [a research firm] to conduct focus groups for me. We brought in recently retired professionals, young professionals and the decision makers of companies. They all thought the concept was really good. They said you can’t compare one-on-one mentoring to seminars and workshops. So the value in our mentor programs is that our mentors all have the experience, plus they work one-on-one with you, confidentially, at the time that you need it.

HB: So you’re expecting companies to hire Ingage mentors for their employees, in lieu of training?
CI: We’re hoping. Definitely, when we go out and we market this service, we want to target corporations or companies. We think that’s kind of the lower hanging fruit. Because companies have budgets for training and development, and this is an awesome alternative or complement to existing training programs. Especially for higher-level employees and managers.

HB: If that’s the low-hanging fruit, what’s the larger market?
CI: I’d really like to create formal programs with different companies. In the focus groups, we heard that a lot of employers want to utilize their own employees as mentors for younger employees. Some companies actually had informal mentoring programs, but they didn’t last, because there was no structure. So we would partner with the company and create a program where they funnel their mentors in through our system. The protégés go online and search their mentor pool using our model. And if they want to allow [Ingage] mentors into the pool, we can do that, too.

HB: What’s been your biggest challenge so far?
CI: Finding mentors. These retired people are no longer tied to an employer. So finding them has been hard. But I think that retirees are going to be a growing market, because of the baby boomer population, and I think there’s a huge potential to capture their skills and knowledge and keep them involved in the community and giving back.

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