Here’s Why a small #Startup Community Might be Your Best Chance at Growing your Network.

BobKevin Shoo
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read

When I started networking online a few years back, I dove in with a “big pool = greater chance of a nibble” mentality. I was right.. but I was wrong at the same time. In my rookie years in the startup game, I disregarded the “quality vs quantity” principle. I would talk to everyone about my ideas, trial and errors and road map. The result of that was unwarranted and poor advise from 50+ people who were, in reality, just as lost as I was. It was only when I joined small, intimate online groups of 50+ individuals of the same niche that I got solid, life-changing advice that ACTUALLY worked and panned out to some extent. In comes Startifi.

(DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A PROMOTIONAL POST!)

I came across Startifi about 6 months ago on my Twitter timeline. I was actively looking for a community to promote company, Bludesk and also recruit some freelancers who could potentially join my team on a full-time basis, regardless of their location. I was expecting a forum-esque platform but I was greeted with a more satisfying experience. After “beefing up” my profile, I started exploring. I made my first valuable connection (hi Payel!) and stumbled upon a board that I can use to promote my newly launched startup and any future updates we make, respectively.

To summarize what Startifi can be used for:

  1. ) You can grow your online network.
  2. ) Promote your startup.
  3. ) Gather a group of beta testers.
  4. ) Get tips and/or feedback.
  5. ) Earn Revenue.

Yes, earn revenue! I plugged a local campaign I was working on for Huawei Tanzania through Skytel Africa in a PM conversation with a fellow founder of Startifi and he ended up making a purchase (it’s worth mentioning that he got another one of his mates to buy a Huawei mobile phone & purchase the new warranty cover from me.. ALL the way in Tanzania!). That is textbook “Value Contact”.

Bludesk is an HR startup that helps companies scale faster with premium candidates. So you can imagine how excited I was when Payel Ganguly, a consultant from Deloitte sent me a connection request on Startifi. He was just one of the many fruitful connections I made through Startifi, and not just on the platform.

Startifi’s twitter followers are doing some amazing things!

I met a guy through their twitter community, who also happens to be a front-end web developer. We had an extensive chat over DM and he gave me tips and hacks for non-technical founders like myself. Long-story short, he showed me how to build our now-hit Messenger Bot. I established a “branch effect” when I dove deeper into “knowing the right people.” I started knowing people that knew people who knew other people and I’ve leveraged what I have through my articles at TechAnnouncer.

Small communities are great for quality and quick responses. Friend & founder of Fritym, Frank Mwarimbo once told me “twist and mold the network you have online, the right way. You might end up with a stellar co-founder as a result of that.” I completely agree with him. I’ve joined 30+ startup communities online but only a handful are of value to me. I’d rank them as follows:

  1. ) SSG (Startup Study Group)
  2. ) Product Hunt
  3. ) Startifi
  4. ) Inbound Org
  5. ) HubSpot
  6. ) CollabHub
  7. ) Impact Geek
  8. ) People Geeks
  9. ) Siftery
  10. ) TechAnnouncer

BobKevin Shoo

Written by

'15 Inbound Org's 22 under 22. Data Analyst & InfoSec Consultant.

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