this is an interesting concept, but from my own experience I'd say partnering up on a project with someone technically more proficient than you is the way to go. It'd be incredibly hard, I imagine, for an "external" individual to be the sounding board you feel you need simply because unless they're involved in the every-day nitty gritty they're simply not going to have the perspective required.
For more general issues, there are plenty of good online resources - e.g stackoverflow.
As an aside, one thing we've had no luck with is finding a business / strategy mentor....
this is an interesting concept, but from my own experience I'd say partnering up on a project with someone technically more proficient than you is the way to go. It'd be incredibly hard, I imagine, for an "external" individual to be the sounding board you feel you need simply because unless they're involved in the every-day nitty gritty they're simply not going to have the perspective required.
For more general issues, there are plenty of good online resources - e.g stackoverflow.
As an aside, one thing we've had no luck with is finding a business / strategy mentor....