networking, communicationI graduated from a design masters a couple of years ago and worked at a design startup. I’ve developed a start up idea myself, but now I’m finding it hard to find the right kind of peeople to discuss and develop the idea. Even just casual conversations are difficult to have because the details are quite specific. I need to find the right kind of people who are curious and interested in ideas. How can I find these kind of communities in my local area? I’m currently based near Leicester UK?
Here are the tools I use for this:
Fast google search: http://www.meetup.com/Leicester-Lean-Startup-Circle/
I don’t know much about your country or home town, but I would suggest that you should be looking for the same kinds of people whom you will be seeking once your product is ready for market, namely customers and investors.
For your idea to succeed after it is created, you are going to have to get people excited about it. You will need to show them how it addresses some unfulfilled need in their lives. You’re going to have to help them instantly realize how much better your product is over their current solution.
The challenges you are going to face post-release, are exactly the same problems you are facing today. Within the limited attention span of the average listener, how do you give them enough of your products details to set the hook and make them hungry for more. If you can’t do it now when there is no money on the line, it will get even harder once your desperate to make a sale.
Now for an answer… Turn around, away from the quest for “the right people” and look at your product. What is its single, undeniably attractive aspect? Can you describe that function or feature in a dozen words or less? twelve short words.
Once you’ve found those words, its time to turn back to the gathering crowds. Hit’em with your words, then follow it up with a question which they might be able to answer.
“I’m writing a social smartphone app to help people avoid their ex-lovers! How do you think I should market it?”
All business owners suffer from some sort of loneliness. They have a hard time talking about their ideas with other people because they spend most of their time with customers (who need to be services) and employees (who need to be managed). It is often we feel nobody understand what kind of problems we have in our hands.
In order to find someone to talk to about business ideas you need to look for two traits:
Trust. It is not easy to find, and it usually builds up over years of cooperation. People need to understand that sometimes you talk in confidence and you need to be sharp and open about the ideas. Otherwise the discussions will bring no added value for you but waste time. Honest feedback for your ideas is what you need. If possible, valuable improvement suggestions.
Competence. Many people think they have knowledge or pretend they are knowledgeable about a topic. It is hard to single out the specific expert you might need. Most of the time results speak for themselves.
Bottom line, you have two options:
A. You can start attending business and technology events and do some networking. In time frequent attendees will become familiar faces and they will evolve into strong connections on the long run. Then you should build a long term business relationship with those you can trust.
B. You may hire a coach or a mentor in a specific area you think you lack expertise. Successful entrepreneurs are open to such cooperation and are willing to support you. It may seem expensive not at your start, but you may find yourself surprised how people will pay it forward.
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