Relationships are worth more than your funding.
As our team dives deeper into the product cycle and approaching launching (very soon!) our biggest asset by far has been the people we’ve come in contact with. Here are a few ideas on how to cultivate those relationships but also keep them active. Your network is only going to be as powerful as the projects/deeds you assign to it. Otherwise it’s nothing but a dead set of wires.
1. The first and foremost thing is to cut and slice your existing social graphs. Just head over to linkedin and make sure you are only connected with people that you actually know and can call/email and get a response from them. There’s very little value to be connected to some powerful people who you’ve never met and just know by name. I did the same with my twitter/facebook accounts as well. It’s okay to follow people just so you can see what they’re talking about but at the same time you should make an effort to get involved with those people and transform that relationship into a warm one.
2. Only add people to linkedin AFTER you’ve met them, and always add some context. Whether its a speaker at a conference or a lunch meeting with a prospective partner, it’s crucial to make sure they remember you and have context as to how the relationship was formed. This will play a huge role in the next few items when you’re actually trying to ask something of them.
3. Steve Barsh said it best, startups need to find their unfair advantages. In most cases it’s going to boil down to the people you know who can get you the intros you need to step up your game to the next level. Every PERSONAL relationship can grow into something productive, its the unmaintained or missed connections or even the lack of building this network that leads to stale startup growth.
4. Facetime always beats phone conversations. Talking to someone one-on-one adds an enormous amount of emotion and respect to what you’re trying to achieve. You don’t need more than 20minutes of anyones time to make the correct impression, nor do most people have that kind of time for you. Keep it short and simple.
5. Always followup. I think this is the area where i could use the most improvement. Following up within 24 hrs assures you stay on top of their list of things to do as well as shows you are confident and reliable.
People and real relationships are what will propel you to the next level, and open new doors. Make real connections, and keep them active. There’s no benefit to friending everyone on earth.
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