ReadWriteWeb

If you're an early-stage entrepreneur and this is your first startup company, you are not alone. Thousands are toiling over code in the hopes that their product will gain users and revenue. The problem with being someone who can build a great product is that you might know more about your core technology then you do about the business of startups. In the past few weeks ReadWriteWeb has covered emerging tech hubs in Israel, Austin and Boulder and the common thread amongst them is that each community encourages mentorship. Today we're looking at what you need to know to find a great mentor.

The problem with most contact management tools is that only a portion of your acquaintances are considered useful. Meanwhile, unconventional contacts like PTA parents, yoga partners and softball teammates remain invisible. Social graphing software PeopleMaps aims to change that. Similar to LinkedIn, the tool allows users to leverage their networks to gain access to new leads. In addition to importing professional connections from LinkedIn, PeopleMaps also provides a visual map of connections imported from Facebook, Gmail and Outlook.

From HP's Social Computing Lab comes news of Friendlee, an entirely new kind of social network that focuses on the intimate connections between close friends, family, and colleagues. The application, designed to operate on your mobile phone, tracks your call and messaging history to provide an ambient awareness of who your "real" friends are and then adds those people to your social network. Not only that, but Friendlee also tracks the businesses you call frequently to identify your preferred services which can then be used as recommendations to your network of friends.

Startup aficionado Dave McClure has formally joined VC firm the Founders Fund as an angel investor, according to an update he made to his LinkedIn profile this week. The Founders Fund was created by former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel in 2005 and is described by author Sarah Lacy as having an ethos "rooted in giving founders better terms and getting out of their way."

Founders Fund has invested in some of the most high profile startups in the market, including Facebook and Slide.com. We covered the move in depth over on Jobwire, our site reporting on new hires in tech.