Mentorship

Thanks for being here and taking a sip from the Fountain

Mentorship is a word we throw around a lot, but when you actually find someone who helps shape your thinking, your confidence, and your path, it’s not just a “nice-to-have.” It’s a game-changer.

I’ve been lucky to have a few great mentors, some living, some not. Their lessons, values, and stories live in my head like a personal board of directors. And over time, I’ve found myself becoming that for others too.

This edition of The Fountain is all about the power of mentorship: how to find it, how to give it, and how to actually make the most of it. Then, we sit down with one of the greats, Joe Mimran, to talk style, creativity, risk-taking, and the hard truths about what it really takes to build something that lasts.

Let’s dive in.

⏳ Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes

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FOUNDER LESSONS

MENTORSHIP

As life has gone on, I’ve been fortunate enough to be asked for mentorship. Now I’m reflecting on my own experiences with mentors and how they’ve shaped me, my businesses and my life.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with individuals who generously poured their wisdom and experience into me.  Mentorship has been a compass in uncertain terrain, a sounding board for crazy ideas, and a safety net when I inevitably stumbled.

I want to talk about two big questions today:

Mentorship to me is looking up to someone, and then being exposed to their teachings and opening you ears and mind.

Mentorship is a gift and I have mentors and am a mentor.

That is the Yin and the Yang of great mentors - they are a balance of friend and father/mother figure.

A parent can be a mentor, a cousin, and uncle, and auntie, but for now lets exclude family.

My greatest mentors have been Greg Hamilton, Stewart Thornhill, Mike Dalton, and Jim Rohn. Introduced into my life in that order and thank the lord he placed these amazing people in my path.

A baseball coach, an MBA Professor, an Entrepreneur and Superdad, and a personal development guru who passed away 16 years ago. Each one example to me their actions and approach and each one shared with me guidance to learn jewels from. 

I call or meet with each of the living a few times a year (listen to Jim almost daily), and it feels great to be able to ask questions and seek direction from people you trust and want the best for you. 

Ask them.

Send an email or catch them at a trade show. I met Nick Graham this way the founder of Joe Boxer, by knowing who he was, seeing him at MAGIC in Vegas and walking up to him. We are friends still to this day. 

I recommend you try to find a mentor or two or three, as they are wise and want to share their wisdom with those coming up.

It is also nice to know people look up to you and value your advice and experience.

As well once you gather a few mentors’ advice and compare notes, hopefully the picture becomes more clear on the direction you should take or decision you should make. 

Jim Rohn has been on the other side for 16 years and he still fills my mental factory from seminars in the 1980’s.

The content still rings true today.

I always value the experience of those who have done before me. When I was at Oklahoma State in 1998 - trying to be a major leaguer - I had two coaches Robbie Wine, and John Farrell who had played in the big leagues.

So every time they spoke I was all ears, put great value on the words of those who have done it, and I wish you all great mentors and thank you to my mentors for all you have done for me.

We sat down with Canadian fashion icon Joe Mimran to talk style, mentorship, and the truth about taking risks.

Joe is the founder of Club Monaco, Joe Fresh, Joseph Mimran & Associates, and more.

We kicked things off with a question many young entrepreneurs are secretly wondering: How much should your closet be worth relative to your income? Joe, in typical Joe fashion, flipped the script.

"It's not about how much your closet costs. It's about your personal brand. You can walk into a vintage shop and come out looking incredible, for very little. The real investment is knowing your style."

On building a wardrobe:
Joe recommends doing the simple things perfect.

He started Club Monaco with just one item: a white shirt. Back in 1984, you couldn’t even find a proper 100% cotton version on the market. He flew to Japan and studied how they revered simple garments, turning something basic into something elevated. That ethos stuck.

He’s also not buying the notion that you can’t repeat outfits.

He said, uniformity isn’t boring if it’s intentional. Comfort matters too, especially in a work-from-home world.

Joe’s now often head-to-toe in Tilley, including their golf line. When asked where he shops, his answer was pretty incredible:

Joe was adamant on the ability of an entrepreneur to be able to handle risks, especially as you grow.

“You need to take risks. If you're not comfortable with that, don't scale. It doesn’t get easier, it gets riskier.”

Joe also shared a story from Dragon’s Den, where a founder revealed he’d mortgaged his home to fund his business. The other Dragons gasped. Joe sat there thinking, I’ve done that too.

We asked Joe “What is your inspiration? How do you stay positive when, times are tough? Or how do you surround yourself with the right people to stay so creative?”

His answer was real:

It's hard, creativity often suffers when financial pressures mount.

Sometimes, you have to look at your team and say, “That’s beautiful, but it may not sell,” or “We just can’t afford to do this right now.”

Even when the creative choice feels right, the business might not be able to support it. It’s a delicate balance, especially when you're working with highly creative people, managing both their expectations and your own.

When you're building a retail network, you want to create beautiful spaces that inspire. But the question becomes: do you build the Taj Mahal and risk going out of business, or do you build something more modest that doesn’t excite anyone? You're always walking that tightrope.

I remember opening my first store in New York, in the Flatiron District, a massive 10,000 square foot space. My accountant came to me and said, “Joe, the rent on this Fifth Avenue store… if we don’t hit our sales, we’re going under.” And I told him, “I know. Thank you so much for reminding me.”

What we thought was going to prompt a very philosophical answer maybe a “don’t stress too much” he again took a different angle and jokingly referenced a missed deal.

After selling Club Monaco, Joe sat down for lunch with Chip Wilson, who had just two Lululemon stores at the time. Chip talked about a 50/50 partnership for $30 million. Joe passed. Today, he says, “That would have been cheap.”

These stories are why The Fountain exists. Thanks again to Joe for his wisdom, honesty, and for being a fountain and not a drain.