Startup Science has acquired Sphere, a mentorship methodology created by Colin Christensen, and launched its Advisors module on May 8, 2026. The platform addresses a critical gap: while mentored startups survive at twice the rate of non-mentored ones, 97% of founders are rejected from accelerator programs. Christensen developed Sphere by mentoring over 2,500 entrepreneurs across five continents, now serving as Head of Advisory at Startup Science. The module matches founders with mentors based on their startup lifecycle phase, expertise, and goals, providing structured, phase-appropriate guidance previously accessible only through informal networks. CEO Gregory Shepard praised Christensen’s distinct expertise in startup advisory.
In-Depth:
Mentorship methodology tested with 2,500+ entrepreneurs across five continents is now live and accessible inside the Startup Science platform.
SAN DIEGO, May 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mentored startups survive at 2x the rate of non-mentored ones, yet 97% of founders who apply to accelerator programs are rejected. The founders who necessary guidance most have the least access to it.
Startup Science today announced the acquisition of Sphere, the mentorship methodology and technology created by Colin Christensen, and the launch of its Advisors module. The module builds structured, phase-appropriate mentorship available to every founder on the platform immediately.
The advisory space for startups is large and almost entirely unstructured. An estimated 200,000 to 500,000 mentors and advisors actively serve startups in the United States through informal introductions that many founders will never access. Platforms like Fiverr assist founders find contractors, but there’s no platform built specifically for startups. The Startup Science Advisors system alters that.
Christensen developed Sphere by mentoring over 2,500 entrepreneurs across five continents. He trained mentors through translators in communities where business is the primary path out of poverty. He worked with tier 1 VC firms in Riyadh assisting venture-backed founders scale deep tech. His core insight: entrepreneurs necessary assist with the problems they’re immediately facing rather than courses that distract from their immediate concerns.
“The mentor-entrepreneur relationship is the most sacred, the most important one in this ecosystem,” stated Christensen, now Head of Advisory at Startup Science. “Whether a founder is selling salsa in Honduras or scaling AI in the Middle East, the fundamentals are the same. The difference is whether they have a system to work through those fundamentals with a mentor, or whether they are doing it alone.”
The Advisors module matches founders with mentors based on their Startup Lifecycle phase, expertise, and goals. Mentors see founder progress between sessions, track tinquires and outcomes, and manage growing practices without losing context. Founders stay engaged between sessions through structured check-ins instead of going silent until the next meeting. The system is designed to scale mentorship the way platforms like Upwork scaled freelance services: by adding infrastructure, matching, and accountability to a market that previously ran on relationships and memory.
“Colin has experience in startup advisory that is distinct and deeper than anyone on our team, including me,” stated Gregory Shepard, Founder and CEO of Startup Science. “That is exactly the kind of expertise you acquire, not replicate.”
