
The belief that the right connection can change your life was the driving force for Lucy Lloyd and Heidi Holmes to start Mentorloop.
Equally important was their understanding that not everyone has access to the right networks, or has the courage to put their hands up and ask for help.
Driven by their own experiences, they decided to create a software platform that would help people find these life changing connections.
“Heidi and I discussed how wonderful it would be if you could find a future version of yourself to help you navigate those career transitions,” says Lucy. “And we wanted to develop a platform that made mentoring accessible to everybody.”
So they set about putting their plan into action.



Investing wisely
As a start-up, keeping costs low was vital for the health of the business. So when it came to investing in platforms and software, the products Lucy and Heidi chose had to be offering an essential service to the business. Xero was one of the first platforms they invested in.
“I’d used Xero in a business before we started Mentorloop,” says Heidi. “It really made my life easier and also gave me visibility of what was happening in the business. So when we started Mentorloop it was a no brainer to continue with it.”
Using Xero has helped Heidi and Lucy make better business decisions, with the ability to easily generate reports and show investors how Mentorloop is doing.
“We’ve got outside investors in the business so we have a reporting responsibility to them,” says Heidi. “With Xero we’re able to generate reports and provide them in a format that is professional and accurate.”
With up to date numbers on Mentorloop’s performance, Heidi and Lucy have been able to get accurate forecasts for the business and rapidly grow the team from two people to ten. But as the team has grown, so has the responsibility of doing fortnightly payroll and managing the accounts.
“We brought in a bookkeeper to help with that side of the business,” says Heidi. “And with Xero it can all be done remotely, we don’t have to catch up face to face. The finance manager and the accountant are both looking at the same information.”