What if mentorship was not one-way, but a shared exchange? That question brought together a group of SMU alumni female founders on Friday 23 January 2026, at SMU ALCove for the first session of the SMU Female Founders Peer Mentoring Initiative.
Led by SMU Alumni Founders Group Exco members Joanna Teo (BSc ISM 2007 and MITB 2024), Tiziana Tan (BBM 2017), and Kashmira Chawak (MCM 2016), the initiative is anchored in a simple belief: mentorship works best when it is mutual.
It also marked the start of a peer-led space intentionally co-created by female founders, for female founders. A space grounded in mutual support, lived experience, and honest conversations that are often hard to have elsewhere.
As shared by Tiziana, this community recognises that:
• Female founders value safe spaces to speak openly about failure and uncertainty
• Not every female founder’s journey looks the same, and that diversity should be celebrated
• Strong mentoring relationships often grow organically through small, trusted circles
The session brought together female founders at different stages of their entrepreneurial journeys, each navigating growth, pivots, and leadership transitions, and shaping together what this community could become.
This was not about experts and protégés. It was about giving and receiving, listening and learning, without pitching or selling.
If you are an SMU alumni founder and would like to be part of this growing community, join the conversation here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/gxDAXB_A
