The Value of Giving Free Advice
Long before I started working at MiniCorp, I asked our founder Brian for advice.
I had just made the scary leap from traditional media — editing a lifestyle magazine — to tech, and would hopefully be working with a product team soon. Except, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Sure, I was interested in tech, had been reading voraciously, was a daily Product Hunt visitor and loved trying out new apps and products. But I didn’t know anything about the process, about where to begin, about what technology to use, about whether I needed a designer first or a developer, about the Dublin tech scene.
Brian and I went to 3FE and I asked question after question. He answered honestly, and with passion and clarity. I wasn’t necessarily a prospective client at this stage, just somebody with a giant knowledge gap to fill. I was super impressed with his approach, his authenticity and, when you get right down to it, his willingness to give me a s*it ton of valuable industry knowledge for free, without expecting anything in return (I’m not even sure if I bought him a coffee — he was such a 3FE regular, I think he came in holding his cup from a previous meeting).
Since I’ve joined the MiniCorp team, I’ve come to realise that’s very much his MO, and something baked into the culture of the company.
Of course, it was one of the first things I asked him about when I started. “The main reason is to build up trust,” he explains. “A lot of people are 100% invested in the quick sale, the right here right now. But if you build a reputation, a relationship, build trust and let people get to know you, the company and what you’re about, then when they have to decide who to go with, they will think about us.”
For us, it’s about playing the long game. “I don’t want to be in business for three or four years,” he says. “I want to be in business for 30–40 and beyond.” If you’re a prospective client, these meetings and conversations are crucial. It’s where you get to know us as a company, see what we’re all about, ask around and see what other people on the scene are saying about us, return with follow-up questions. Building that trust is a crucial part of the product-creating process. Our clients trust that we have their product’s interest at heart, and that begins way back during these early, green shoot conversations.
Have a prospective meeting with a development agency coming up? Here are some things to consider.
Get intimate
This idea of yours is precious and valuable to you, so be picky. “You’re trying to find someone who is going to nurture it with you, just like two partners would a baby,” says Brian. “If the other party isn’t willing to put in the time into exploring the relationship, it isn’t going to work.”
“If you want to just walk into a shop and say “I’m looking for somebody to build a website”, that’s exactly what you’ll get — a website in a box,” he continues. “You’d deploy it, and in six or 12 months you’ll be looking to start over.” You want someone who is going to collaborate, and who you can imagine working very closely with.
Find out what they believe in
Go beyond technical questions and really try to find out if they have an interest in the subject matter. “If you’re building a water bottle app, don’t ask specific app questions,” advised Brian. “Instead, ask them if they like to be hydrated!” The key here is figuring out if they have a passion for the idea or concept first.
Let them ramble
Do they really care about the work they create? Ask them to give some examples. “At that point,” says Brian, “stop talking, and let them go off. If they’re massively passionate about they do, they’ll talk at length and you’ll get to see their passion and drive. And yes, some developers may be more introverted than others, but it’s up to you to coax out whether they truly care about your product.”
As time becomes our most valuable commodity, fewer and fewer people are willing to simply give it away, and understandably so. Leading business sites run headlines like How Much Should You Give Away for Free During a Coffee Meeting? and How To Stop Giving Away Free Advice. So what’s Brian’s trick to making up the time? “Instead of watching Game of Thrones, I open my laptop,” he laughs.
Want to meet for coffee? Give Brian a shout on brian@minicorp.ie or say hi on Twitter or Snapchat.
This post first appeared on the MiniCorp blog, where we regularly share our thoughts on product development, design, and the Irish start-up scene.
