Robert Scoble, I study startups for Rackspace.
307 votes by Mike Bracco, Ozgur Demir, Simon Pacheco, (more)
I hang around high-profile people often. Here's some things that can help you connect:
Write a post like this and ask for help! For instance, I'd love to get an interview with Apple's Tim Cook. Can anyone help with that?
- Listen. If they say your idea sucks, listen to the feedback, take notes, and ask for contact info. Then go fix the problems, or come up with another idea and demonstrate you listened.
- Get to the point. People like Ron Conway are busy. They are wildly rich, so the only thing that is limited in their life is time. You are taking away some of their most precious resource, so get to the freaking point. Don't try to chit chat or ask about their kids or make small talk. Go right for the big ask. They are used to it.
- Ask a friend of theirs first. They are more likely to listen to a friend they trust more than if you just walk up and pitch them. Instead, find a more accessible friend of theirs (most of these people are on Facebook and you can figure out who else is in their social circles) and ask them for their advice. If they think your idea is the world's best they will take it to them for you, believe me.
- Don't be afraid. Last night I went up to Kevin Systrom, co-founder and CEO of Instagram, and congratulated him and asked him how the deal was going. Others WANTED to go say hi to him, but didn't.
- Don't wait until they are famous. I was the 79th user of Instagram. Why? Because when Kevin asked for me to help him by testing his app, I listened and handed him my iPhone. That makes trying to go up to Kevin after he's famous a lot easier.
- On the other hand, don't be annoying. Look for signals that they aren't interested in talking, or are open for discussing. I once met Bill Gates on the show floor. I could tell he was animated when talking with others, so I tagged along and waited for my chance to speak to him.
- Always be networking. The reason I met Kevin last night is because I bothered to talk to the guy sitting next to me on the plane. He wasn't Kevin, but was a VC (I didn't know him, I do now) and he said "did you see Kevin get on the plane?
- Flattery is nice, but. These people are used to being flattered, and it's always nice. But don't lay it on too hard and don't forget to get to the point of why you're saying hi. You're not there just for the story, right? You want something, so ask for it. They are used to it. I once asked Bill Gates for $300 million in front of Mike Arrington. I was turned down, but that was more fun than just telling Bill how awesome he is. I once told Bill to buy Skype for less than $2 billion, too. Not listening to me cost him, what, $6 billion, so I figure he might listen to me someday when I ask for $300 million to go do some fun things. :-)
- When someone says they aren't interested, listen. I had some guys at LeWeb who I told I wasn't really interested in their idea, but they kept pitching, even pitched me the next day. I signal strongly what I want to see just to keep that awkward time from happening. So does Ron, etc. If you have the next big tech company Ron wants to see you for at least two minutes. But you better deliver the goods in that two minutes, otherwise he'll tell you why he's not interested.
- Always try to see life from their side. If I wanted to pitch Ron on something I'd read everything about him, everything he's written, and I'd ask people who know him how he views the world and what he's passionate about. That will give you something to talk about and potentially offer him first, before asking for your needs. Certainly look for their Twitter streams, Facebook pages, blog posts, etc before calling or jumping on them at a conference, etc.
- Be flexible. Often they are on their way somewhere else, or have someone else to meet with. Don't force them to listen to you when their mind is already somewhere else (it won't work anyway). Ask for a new meeting time that's more convenient for them. It's amazing how many people don't respect other people's time and believe me, if they have to run to the bathroom they will only remember how big a jerk you were for not listening to the signals they were sending.
- Put yourself in play. You won't meet interesting people by sitting at home. Get to where they are. Hang out in lobbies of tech conferences, or hang out in cool coffee houses where they hang out and do deals. I do this often and it's amazing how many interesting people you can meet this way. Tonight I'll be at the Ritz in Half Moon Bay doing just this.
Write a post like this and ask for help! For instance, I'd love to get an interview with Apple's Tim Cook. Can anyone help with that?
Rajesh Setty, co-founder of multiple startups in US...
29 votes by Tal Hoffman, Irfan Mirza, Steve Harper, (more)
Robert Scoble has already provided a wealth of information on this topic. So here are seven more things to consider:
1. Collect obligations: Let's start with Robert Scoble here again. Having known Robert, he not only has insights on this, he is also a practitioner. Every interaction with him, the first thing he is doing with you is finding the fastest way to help you. By the end of the meeting, you have a powerful urge to reciprocate to Robert in some way. I am confident that Robert has a bid deposit of obligations that he can call on when he needs. In your case, if you focus on collecting obligations some day you can probably tap into some of them for connections.
2. Forget shortcuts: If you are in a super hurry to meet someone and ASK them for something, you are doing it wrong. You might pull it off, if you have something golden but that's more of an exception than rule. It's a stretch to go from a being stranger to a friend overnight.
3. A good introduction trumps everything: A good introduction is one that comes from a person that is closely connected to the person you are trying to reach. But, it won't be easy as the person who is introducing you has to believe that it's worth making an introduction. Again we go back to the point #1 above.
4. Learn to tell a good story: You may get only a few minutes but you will need to craft a great story that is compelling and can be told in those few minutes. Storytelling is as much of an art as it is a science. This means with effort you can become very good at it. Watching and reading stories alone won't make you a good storyteller. You need to practice crafting and delivering stories.
5. Build a personal brand that is meaningful. Personal brand is a cliched word in general. However, nobody who has a reasonably good personal brand disputes the fact that having a personal brand has opened new doors for them.
6. Get your alignment right: You get one chance to make a good first impression. If you are actions and intentions are not rightly aligned, the person you are talking to will figure it out. In other words, it is not worth trying to be "too smart" as it can bite back at you.
7. Add the right kind of mystery: This may appear to be counter-intuitive at first but let's take a look at this in detail. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person. You met with them in a hallway at a conference and there is a good possibility that you are an interruption for them. So, in their mind what's going is how to get rid of you gracefully if what you are saying is not very interesting. This is where the 'mystery element' comes in. Imagine you deliver a pitch that is compelling but not complete. Imagine you provide social proof for what you are building without revealing the recipe of "how you are getting that social proof." In summary, imagine you paint the picture that will be compelling but an element goes missing along with the message that you have that element covered. That gap will probably create enough curiosity that he or she will want to learn more either via email or in-person. Mission accomplished.
All the best!
1. Collect obligations: Let's start with Robert Scoble here again. Having known Robert, he not only has insights on this, he is also a practitioner. Every interaction with him, the first thing he is doing with you is finding the fastest way to help you. By the end of the meeting, you have a powerful urge to reciprocate to Robert in some way. I am confident that Robert has a bid deposit of obligations that he can call on when he needs. In your case, if you focus on collecting obligations some day you can probably tap into some of them for connections.
2. Forget shortcuts: If you are in a super hurry to meet someone and ASK them for something, you are doing it wrong. You might pull it off, if you have something golden but that's more of an exception than rule. It's a stretch to go from a being stranger to a friend overnight.
3. A good introduction trumps everything: A good introduction is one that comes from a person that is closely connected to the person you are trying to reach. But, it won't be easy as the person who is introducing you has to believe that it's worth making an introduction. Again we go back to the point #1 above.
4. Learn to tell a good story: You may get only a few minutes but you will need to craft a great story that is compelling and can be told in those few minutes. Storytelling is as much of an art as it is a science. This means with effort you can become very good at it. Watching and reading stories alone won't make you a good storyteller. You need to practice crafting and delivering stories.
5. Build a personal brand that is meaningful. Personal brand is a cliched word in general. However, nobody who has a reasonably good personal brand disputes the fact that having a personal brand has opened new doors for them.
6. Get your alignment right: You get one chance to make a good first impression. If you are actions and intentions are not rightly aligned, the person you are talking to will figure it out. In other words, it is not worth trying to be "too smart" as it can bite back at you.
7. Add the right kind of mystery: This may appear to be counter-intuitive at first but let's take a look at this in detail. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person. You met with them in a hallway at a conference and there is a good possibility that you are an interruption for them. So, in their mind what's going is how to get rid of you gracefully if what you are saying is not very interesting. This is where the 'mystery element' comes in. Imagine you deliver a pitch that is compelling but not complete. Imagine you provide social proof for what you are building without revealing the recipe of "how you are getting that social proof." In summary, imagine you paint the picture that will be compelling but an element goes missing along with the message that you have that element covered. That gap will probably create enough curiosity that he or she will want to learn more either via email or in-person. Mission accomplished.
All the best!
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