Booking your first session

You've picked a mentor. Now what? This walks you through every step from first click to sitting down for the call.

Step by step

1. On the mentor's profile, find their availability. It's usually in a calendar widget or "Book a session" section. You'll see open time slots in YOUR timezone.
2. Click a slot. If the mentor has multiple session types (e.g. "30-min intro", "60-min deep dive"), pick the one that fits.
3. Add a message (optional but recommended). Tell the mentor what you want to work on. The more specific you are, the more they can prep.
4. Click "Book session". You'll go to checkout with the session as a cart item.
5. Pay via Stripe. Cards are charged immediately at booking. Session goes into "pending" state until the mentor approves.
6. Wait for approval. Most mentors approve within a few hours. You'll get an email + in-app notification when they do.
7. Receive the calendar invite. After approval, a calendar link and Zoom link are generated and emailed to you.

What "pending" means

Your card is charged at booking, but the session isn't officially confirmed until the mentor approves. If they reject — because they're ill, double-booked, or decide it's not a fit — you get an automatic full refund to your original payment method within 5–10 business days.

Heads-up: your card is charged before mentor approval. If you're paying with a debit card, the money is pulled even though the session might not happen. In the (rare) rejection case, the refund goes back the same way.

Approval time

Mentors with high response rates usually approve within 1–2 hours. If it's been more than 48 hours, message the mentor directly or cancel and get your money back. The system auto-cancels pending sessions after 7 days of no response.

Once approved — what to expect

• Email with session details — date, time, duration, Zoom link, and the mentor's contact for direct questions.
• Calendar links — one-click add to Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar.
• Reminder email 24 hours and 1 hour before the session.
• Session page — accessible from My Bookings, shows everything about this session including the Join button closer to the start time.

Preparing for the session

• Test your audio/video 10 minutes before. See "Video or audio not working" if something's off.
• Have your questions ready — written down if possible. A blank-page session is a waste of money.
• Screen-share what you're working on. Much faster than describing code over voice.
• Take notes. The session might not be recorded; protect the value.

If you need to cancel

Go to My Bookings → the session → Cancel. If it's before the cancellation window (default: 1 day before start), you get a full refund. After that, cancellations are at the mentor's discretion — message them directly.

If the mentor no-shows

Wait 10 minutes. If they haven't joined, open a support ticket from the session page. Full refund is automatic in confirmed mentor-no-show cases.

Related

• "Joining a live session" — what to do right before and during
• "Refund policy" — the refund mechanics
• "Messaging your mentor" — pre-session communication