Is a wholesaling mentor necessary?

[Robert Richards]

My wife and I are in the beginning stages of starting our wholesale real estate business.  We're really excited for the opportunity to work together as a team and the freedom this type of work will seemingly provide for our family. We've watched many videos online and have read through several blog posts on wholesaling and much of what we've read encourages new investors to seek mentorship.  While I find value in working with experienced professionals I am skeptical to spend large sums of money for mentorship right out the gate.  My question is 'who here has succeeded in absence of a mentor' and similarly 'who here has failed and this failure can be directly attributed to the mentor'.