Here is Why Networking is Crucial for Entrepreneurs

The story of Berkshire Hathway and Uber and how I have come to understand networking after 14 years as an entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship as a concept have come a long way since the time the concept first came afloat.

The concepts have evolved and scaled to a huge extent. One of the pillars in entrepreneurship is the ability an entrepreneur exhibits in building their network and what comprises their ventures ecosystem.

Oftentimes, it is who they network with that further boosts their plans and helps them scale and these could be random chance encounters which lead to great things.

In this post, we thought we would list down two stories old and new which lead to the creation of two powerhouse companies.

When you think of Berkshire Hathway, you might not get as arousing a response as compared to when you hear the words Warren Buffet.

The oracle of Omaha as he is called is one of the wealthiest people in the world with a net worth as of 2020 is about $81 billion and he hasn’t gotten where he is on his own, he had help and from none other than Charlie Munger.

Now Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger could have met many times before. In fact, they both in their youth worked for Warren Buffets Grandfathers’ grocery store. They never met though, because they were 6 years apart.

Warren Buffet worked at many different places in different capacities up to the age of 30. His curiosity was always around and was evident from the amount of knowledge about investing which he had acquired by then.

This is how his career looked until the time Berkshire Hathway came along, worked from 1951 to 1954 at Buffett-Falk & Co. as an investment salesman; from 1954 to 1956 at Graham-Newman Corp. as a securities analyst; from 1956 to 1969 at Buffett Partnership, Ltd. as a general partner and from 1970, as Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Charlie Munger on the other hand was a lawyer who was working outside of Omaha, and who moved back in order to take over his father’s law firm after he died. I think he stopped practicing law after a certain point as well, he was just managing the firm.

In fact, Might have helped Buffet acquire an investment before they even met. A gentleman invested US$100,000 with Buffet without really listening to anything. Warren Buffett asked why to which the gentleman replied: “Because you remind me of Charlie Munger”. Warren Buffett mused that he didn’t who Charlie Munger was but he liked him already.

On a random night, a businessman had organized a dinner at which both Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger were present and that is where this journey started. In fact, it started with a joke which had Charlie Munger rolling on the floor.

Today Berkshire Hathway is the largest holding company in the world.

This is where the concept of networking comes in, You know a guy who knows another guy, that guy invites the other guy and you to dinner, and boom, the next thing you know you have a business partner.

Second Story

The second story is more recent and that is better explained with this pic.

The tweet turned into a billion dollars. For Travis Kalanick, it was the stage in the business where he opened up about ideation to the world through his twitter account (an unconventional way to network obviously), and through this tweet, he found the first employee at Uber and a great resource at that, someone who co-piloted it into the company it turned into.

For Ryan Graves, he was a leader in a management trainee program in IT at General Electric, and this random tweet converted him into the first employee at Uber and a Billionaire.

What this does prove is networking in today’s day and age is not even a formal black-tie event, as is evident from the language used in the tweet.

It is more of a conversation.

It is about minds coming together and sharing a wavelength.

Networking has always been a subject of debate and there are many entrepreneurs who would say I can’t network. Trust me, if you are an entrepreneur and find someone who expresses even a little interest in what you are driven by, it will be hard to stop you from speaking.

Here are things I learned about Networking through the 14 years I have been an entrepreneur.

• Networking does not mean cold calling or striking up small talk with people who you know do not share any common interests with you.
• Networking does not have to be about convincing, it is more about syncing interests.
• Networking is not a sales pitch, it is a conversation.
• Networking does not have to be a chore, it is more about becoming a part of the community that your business can thrive in.
• Networking is about building an ecosystem that you and others involved can thrive from.
• Networking is about accepting invitations and going to events that will have people from within your niche.

The Takeaway

When you do find someone you connect with on the core interest level, you get into a flow state. The conversation is driven towards a common objective and it leads to more tangible growth and outcomes.

The worse thing you can do for your networking efforts is to make it a mechanical process and get caught up with the idea that the more you network, the more you will sell. Sales are the by-product of networking.

So be bold, have faith in your ability, and talk about your idea. You never know how a chance encounter would put people and companies in your path who would be one of the foundation stones for your company’s growth.