“Networking For Your Startup” with Paul Foley
We were lucky enough to be joined by entrepreneur and Eyesight mentor, Paul Foley, for our second Eyesight Webinar. Paul has started numerous successful startups in the Denver area and is currently working on Optic, a venture in the augmented reality space.
We were also joined by three CU students from the Leeds School of Business. Rory Magee founded the TKE fraternity chapter at CU and is now pursuing his own startups. Amy Alonzi is a CU freshman pursuing two degrees in Business and Spanish and hopes to pursue a career internationally. Clayton Schneider is also a CU freshman pursuing his Quantitative Finance Certification and has started his own clothing brand, which donates a percentage of its profits towards the protection and wellbeing of endangered gorillas. All of them admitted their struggles with networking whether it was for a startup or just to build towards their future careers, which provided for a very involved and constructive conversation.
Paul began by giving us background on how he found his passions in startups and how he has built his career through strong and meaningful networking. Paul started his career working for a large consulting firm, and 7 months in, he knew he wanted to start his own company, resulting in his resignation. He immediately began working towards his own ideas and ventures and attributes much of his success to the people he surrounded himself with.
There was one key takeaway that Paul provided to really drive the conversation forward. He urged the group to pursue a quality-over-quantity network. In other words, having a small network built from the right people is far more valuable than having a large network full of people that probably cannot help you. Going out and meeting as many people as possible to add to your network will result in a diluted community in which many relationships will not progress past the first meeting and follow up. Be selective of those you admit to your close community of friends and mentors and understand how they can specifically help you, as well as how you can help them.
So how do you find mentors who are right for your network? Paul’s solution is to network with a purpose. Understand the qualities and skills that will help you in the long run. A relationship will not last when you have little in common. Furthermore, constantly ask yourself, “how can I help this person?” every time you meet someone new.
The 60-minute webinar was filled with extremely constructive conversation from which everyone benefited. We hope we can share what we learn through this conversation with the rest of you. Here are the key take-aways from our conversation with Paul.
Key Take-Aways:
- For students, try to start pursuing something outside of school when you are young. You can fail as much as you want while you are in school, and those failures will teach you a ton of useful skills for the future.
- Referrals are powerful. Being able to meet new people through those you already know will ensure those that you are meeting will fit well in your network.
- Following up is key. After meeting someone, it is absolutely necessary to reach out again to express your gratitude for their time and how great it was to meet them.
- Build a quality over quantity network. Knowing the right people is far more important than knowing a lot of people.
- Don’t be scared to reach out to people you have never met. Many people will want to help because they can remember being in your position.
- When you reach out to someone, don’t be offended when people get back to you with short answers. Successful people are very busy, so a short answer does not mean you are annoying them or wasting their time.
- Having a purpose when networking will make it easier to foster a lasting and beneficial relationship.
Book Suggestion:
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Written by Nathan Moses, Co-Founder and CCO of Eyesight Collective
