What Does The Ideal TPA Mentor Look Like?
Author: Shrikant Joshi, Independent Audio Creator
Do they look like me? Nah, probably not...
I'll be honest. For a long time, I didn't think I would make a good mentor.
I have massive impostor syndrome. Plus, my expertise is incredibly niche: “Radio programming and production for music-based commercial FM stations in India.” Let's face it, that's not something most people outside of India (or even inside, given recent trends) care much about. In fact, I thought I needed mentoring to learn more about the global aspects of independent radio and podcasting!
So, that's exactly what I pursued when I joined TPA.
A couple of years ago, I applied to be a TPA mentee. I was paired with the founder of Amaeya Media in Dubai, the wonderful Chirag Desai. The next year, I was lucky enough to be paired with the incredibly creative Anthony Del Col from Canada. (Look him up—he has his own Wikipedia page!)
Chirag taught me how to manage freelance clients, and Anthony helped me clean up the plot and structure of a fiction project I was working on. Both were incredible mentors, and I thank my stars—and the TPA matchmakers—every day for connecting me with them!
Interestingly, my first experience as a mentor happened while I was still being mentored by Anthony.
If you’re wondering how you can be both a mentor and a mentee at the same time, I thought the same thing! My impostor syndrome kept screaming, "How can you even THINK of being a mentor?! You’re not even a good mentee! You barely know anything!"
I shared these thoughts with a friend, and he said something I'll never forget:
"Sure, you might not be an expert, but think of yourself as a 10-year-old in your field, helping a 5-year-old understand the basics. You don’t need a Ph.D. to teach a 5-year-old, right?"
He was right. I didn’t need to be an expert. I just needed to share what I knew, and what I didn’t know, I could learn and then share.
That’s how I started mentoring two incredible TPA members—Dominic Knowles and Fernanda Estrada.
Dominic brings a wealth of experience in podcasting, especially around mental health and wellness. Fernanda is a phenomenal storyteller and scriptwriter. Dominic has won several awards—Signals, Webbies, Ambies—you name it! Fernanda is on her way to winning her first Signal for her investigative journalism piece, HUMO: Murder and Silence in El Salvador. (Fingers crossed I haven’t jinxed it, Fernanda! 🤞)
As you might have guessed, there wasn’t much mentoring for me to do. They were far more qualified and accomplished. So, we turned our meetings into general monthly chats, where each of us would share problems, and the others would offer ideas on how to navigate them.
We ended up mentoring each other.
In hindsight, they were the best ‘mentees’ I could have asked for because they didn’t really need mentoring. If anything, I learned from them!
Encouraged by that experience, I applied to be a mentor again for the Fall 2024 cohort.
Once again, the TPA matchmakers paired me with an incredible mentee—LeAura Luciano. She’s incredibly hardworking and has the kind of Instagram following most of us can only dream of. She wanted help growing her podcast audience. Having recently found some success with my YouTube channel, Future IQ, I’ve been helping her find the right audience for her podcast. We’ve seen some progress, and while there’s still a long way to go, I’m confident we’re on the right track.
(If you’re wondering if this is a case of “the novice leads the amateur,” it’s not! It’s more like two students comparing notes from different classes.)
These mentoring experiences have taught me one simple thing: over the years, we all gather a lot of knowledge—small tricks and techniques that help us. Everyone develops different ones, and mentorship is a way to share those insights.
I don’t claim to be an expert in growing audiences. Social media algorithms are a black box, and anyone claiming to understand them is probably selling snake oil. But if someone says, “Hey, I tried this, and it worked for me. Maybe it’ll work for you too,” that’s a person worth listening to.
And that’s the kind of mentor I strive to be.
Whatever I know, I’ll gladly share without holding anything back. Whatever I don’t know, I’ll learn—whether from my mentee, the internet, or anyone else—and then share what I’ve learned.
Because at the end of the day, all content creators share a common goal: building a legacy. We’re all following the same path, exercising our creative muscles daily. And we all need a second pair of eyes to catch things we might miss. That second pair of eyes doesn’t need to be an expert—just someone who’s traveled a similar path and is willing to share their knowledge. Someone who doesn’t view the content rat race as a zero-sum game.
Because none of us know everything, but we all know something. And if someone wants to know something that you happen to know, that’s your opportunity to teach.
So, to answer the question I posed in the title:
The ideal TPA mentor looks like YOU.
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Shrikant Joshi, Independent Audio Creator, Ex-Radio person, Tri-lingual. Find Shrikant on: https://42quirks.com/