Myself
The Protege Boost is a concept derived from the Hawthorne effect, which suggests that humans modify their behavior when they know they are being watched. As a mentor, having a protege can actually enhance your performance. This is a personal observation that was first noted when I began mentoring and brought my protege to meetings. I found that I was more confident and motivated to perform at my best, treating the situation more like a coaching experience rather than a mere funding opportunity. This not only eased some pressure but also made the experience more valuable.
My proteges, like Caleb who now runs one of Africa's largest tech newsletters, Theon, a software engineer at a large company, Jennifer, who grew her newsletter from 0 to 14k subscribers in 2 weeks, Daniel, who had 3 years of product management experience before even graduating university, and Alvin, who co-ran an international bootcamp with me and now works as a sales engineer at a startup, have all helped elevate my game while succeeding in their own right.