An engineering mentor. If a session doesn't help, you don't pay.
Not a coach reading it off a slide. Operator mentors who have already done your job: 3,400+ unique sessions with 300 engineering and product leaders across 17+ countries. Rate a session below 7 out of 10 and it's free.
Step 1
Pick your scope.
Choose what you want to get better at. Pick more than one if that is the truth.
Step 2
Six mentors on the bench.
CEO @ Visionvolve
Michal Ličko
AI transformation & scaling eng orgs 100+
Field CTO @ Keboola
Vojta Tůma
Data platform architecture & strategy
Strategy builder
Jan Fried
Strategic planning & product ops transformation
Nobody on the bench covers that combination yet.Describe it anyway and Marian will match you by hand.
Ask for an intro.
Three short steps. Marian reads every one of these himself and comes back with a name and a time, usually within two working days.
Request in. Marian has it.
You will get a name and a proposed time, usually within two working days. Check your inbox for the confirmation in the next minute or two.
Three steps. No retainer.
Say what's stuck.
A hiring fire, a board deck, a team that stopped shipping. Two minutes to describe it.
Get matched.
An operator mentor for engineering leaders who ran your stage and scale, with the scars to show for it. Matching runs through MentoringHub, the mentoring bench built on the ELC network.
The guarantee
3Pay only when it helps.
You rate every session. Below 7 out of 10, that session is free. The bar sits with you, not us.
Whatever seat you are in.
Engineering leaders
CTO, VP of Engineering, Director. Board answers, org design, a hiring plan that holds.
1:1 with MarianEngineering managers
First leadership seat, delivery pressure, the team you inherited.
See the manager trackTech leads and staff engineers
Influence without authority. Architecture calls that stick.
See the staff trackSoftware developers stepping up
The IC to lead jump, without dropping your technical edge.
See the career trackProduct managers and product builders
Roadmaps that survive contact with stakeholders.
See the product trackLeaders in the AI era
Rewiring how your team builds with AI, guided by someone shipping with it this week.
Find your mentorThe room these mentors come out of.
Every mentor on this bench stands on an ELC stage, sits in a circle, or argues in the bar afterwards. 40+ meetups held so far, 120+ leaders in the room each time.
Mentees, in their words.
"Marian was part of helping scale up our technical teams from 35 to 100 people during his time with Mews. One of his key successes was around creating visibility on engineering output and ensuring we were able to more effectively reach our goals."
"In my new role, after just four months, I had to let go of a significant number of people who were also my friends. Marian provided invaluable guidance. I was able to part ways with everyone on good terms."
"Marian helped me to stabilize and mature our engineering in Apify after a period of growth. … But mainly, he changed how I view my role and the role of the engineering department in the organization."
Where mentees come from.
Engineering leaders at scale-ups, banks, and global product companies. Czech, Slovak, EU, US.
Live data
The numbers behind the bench.
Pulled live from the mentoring log. Staff engineers to CTOs, 17+ countries, CEE to San Francisco. Rated 9.17/10 on average across 300+ reviews.
- People mentored since 2019287+
- Sessions delivered3,317+
- Last mentoring atThis week
Role distribution
Active mentees, last 12 months
Marian caps his own 1:1s at 14 in parallel. Hollow dots are open seats.Grab one →
This is the same network that runs 12 meetups a year at 120+ attendees each and a 500+ attendee conference with speakers from Netflix and Stripe.
Pay for what helps.
A fractional CTO in Europe runs 1,000 to 2,000 EUR a day. Coaching retainers bill monthly whether any single session helps or not.
Here a session runs 292 to 430 EUR and you only pay for the ones you rate 7 out of 10 or higher. ELC members book at the 361 EUR rate. Companies pay the same rate you see, invoiced against a PO.
Below 7 out of 10, the session is free.
You rate every session. No form, no argument.
Rated 9.17/10 on average across 300+ reviews.
Want to know how this works?
Not ready to name a problem yet, or you are sorting out terms for a whole team. Rates, invoicing, how matching is done, what happens when a mentor is not the right fit. Marian answers all of it himself.
Mentor or coach?
A coach asks you questions. An operator mentor has run your job, at your scale, and tells you what worked, what failed and what it cost. You leave with a decision, not a reflection exercise.
| Operator mentor | Coach | |
|---|---|---|
| Has done your job | Yes, at your stage and scale | Not required |
| You leave with | A decision, and what it cost them | Questions to reflect on |
| How you pay | Per session, 292 to 430 EUR | Usually a monthly retainer |
| If a session does not help | Rate it below 7 out of 10 and it is free | The retainer bills either way |
Questions leaders ask
How much does an engineering mentor cost?
A single session runs 292 to 430 EUR. ELC community members book at 361 EUR per session. Sessions you rate below 7 out of 10 are free, so the downside of a bad match is zero.
What is the difference between a mentor and a coach?
A coach asks you questions. An operator mentor has run your job, at your scale, and tells you what worked, what failed and what it cost. You leave with a decision, not a reflection exercise.
How do I find an engineering mentor in Central Europe?
Start at MentoringHub, the mentoring bench built on the ELC network of 3,100+ engineering leaders across Prague, Brno, Bratislava and Kraków. Describe what is stuck and get matched with a mentor who has run your stage.
Can my company pay for my mentoring?
Yes. Most mentees are company sponsored. The invoice goes to your employer against a PO, at the same per-session rate you see here. Companies growing several leaders at once start on the for companies page.
What happens if a session is not worth it?
You rate it. Below 7 out of 10, you owe nothing for that session. No form, no argument.
