About
Connecting and growing women through mentorship.
Our mission is to make it easy for women to connect, learn and grow together through high-quality mentorship.
Our story
My mentor became my co-founder.
In 2019, Dzhuliana signed up to OneUpOneDown as a mentee. The platform matched her with Natalie. Three months of mentoring changed how she worked, and a few months later she joined as technical co-founder.
Natalie was in New Zealand and Dzhuliana in London. They built the company together almost every day for three years before they met in person.
That match taught us what we now build for every programme: the best mentor isn't the most senior person in the room. She's one or two steps ahead, and has just solved the problem you're facing now. That's why 30% of our members mentor and are mentored at the same time.
“We've lived the product from both sides. The right match changed my career.”
The OneUpOneDown mentorship experience
Why OneUpOneDown
The right person, at the right time, can change a life.
One of the most significant factors in a person’s success and quality of life is the people they surround themselves with. Through mentorship, we help more women surround themselves with people who uplift them and help them realise their potential, bringing new perspectives, insights and influences from outside their existing environments.
The world is full of people with unique talents, insights and experiences worth sharing. Not generic information, but specific stories and perspectives: shared with the right person at the right time, they can break patterns, open doors and change lives. What seems small to one person can change everything for another.
We’ve developed a unique methodology and enabling technology for women worldwide to connect, learn and lead through mentorship. Women seek to connect, learn and lead authentically, yet have less access to mentors and role models in senior leadership.
Every day we see what women mentoring women can do, and we want a world where mentorship is an everyday practice.
Natalie and Dzhuliana
Team
Get to know the team.
Advisory board
Our advisors.
The OneUpOneDown methodology
How we make mentorship work.
Near-peer mentorship
We match on near-peer mentorship, so mentors are just a couple of life stages ahead of mentees. This produces highly relevant advice and helps mentor and mentee relate to each other, learn and grow.
Each match lasts three months, so mentor and mentee can build a trusted relationship and experience outcomes together.
Optimising the learning curve
We set out to build a system that could match millions of women worldwide in relationships that really work, maximising the benefits of committed mentors and mentees while minimising the challenges of less committed participants.
We chose three-month matches with four meetings: two in the first month, then one in each of the last two. It strikes a balance, creating space for mentorship without overload. After a match ends, mentors and mentees can be rematched for a new learning experience.
Removing uncertainty, building confidence
Automated matchmaking presents one suitable match at a time, with clear guidelines for engagement, removing the friction of starting a mentorship relationship.
We also provide resources, guides and training so mentors and mentees feel confident to give and receive mentorship.
Automating the manual work
Serving ambitious women
Women supporting women
Let’s grow women leaders together.
A 30-minute call with Natalie, our co-founder and CEO.