A "WTF" networking formula from Silicon Valley
Your network is your net worth. Via a gold WTF phrase, Dea Wilson brought us the Silicon Valley’s serendipity at October edition of Startup Grind Cluj Napoca.
Wisdom (W), Thanks (T), and Favours (F) guide you in creating genuine get-to-know each other experiences, building and nurturing your networking. It’s all about the people!
Events are designed to build up a community, to help you meet new like minded people who want to change the world. And so was our last edition of Startup Grind Cluj-Napoca, authentically richful in the presence of a super-connector open to share creative, practical ideas. Get inspired and build up your confidence.
The Founder of Lifograph — The Wiki of People, a networking platform for people and companies in Silicon Valley and tech, Dea Wilson explored her creativity during her whole lifetime: taking guitar lessons, sewing her own dresses since a little girl, drawing, reading, teaching. Also law involves a lot of creativity, she confess.
Currently a serial entrepreneur, Founder of Silicon Valley Incubator and member of Tech Angels (an angel group investing in Romanian startups) Dea discovered early that technology has the potential of making something that people need. Her currently investment interest is in consumer, mobile and SaaS startups and her driving passion in building an expansive network of “Who’s Who” in startups, venture capital, technology and entertainment.
It’s all about the people. Who you know and who knows you. Who you can help and who can help you.
Use WTF formula and ask questions like “How can I help You?”. Wisdom means positioning yourself as an expert in the area that you are passionate about. Say Thank you for all the nice things that are said to you. Do Favors constantly: show little gesture of appreciation for others (such as a nice little gift for the speakers at the event you organize; share an useful link to an article, send a free ticket for an event to a person who you think it’s going to be interesting for).
"My goal is 3 favors a day." shared Dea.
At the events you take part of, meet new people, exchange contacts, info and business cards.
"As an ex-introvert, I set my goal of meeting 2 new people at an event. And seeing how easy it was, helped me build up my confidence. Then I doubled my goal, and so forth." points Dea.
It doesn’t matter who the people are, but what they can do. Is important who you know and who knows you, which also translates in who you can help and who can help you. Doing networking is like having a second job: follow and maintain your relationships. Nothing happens without people getting involved.
Cluj entrepreneurship environment has great potential, but lacks tolerance to failure.
Through the eyes of a native Cluj person, educated in Law in Bucharest, with a Master’s Degree from University of Washington and a Business Administration MBA from the Wharton School of Business (Pennsylvania), Cluj Napoca is seen as a constantly growing cultural place with a lot of potential. What could really bring us close to the “Heaven of entrepreneurs”, the real Silicon Valley atmosphere, is the courage to develop the tolerance to failure. It’s okay to fail, make mistakes, just have in mind to make new ones. Show that you have the skin in the game when pitching your idea. Try to make more money in order to support your idea. Be creative about how to do it!
When pitching your idea to an investor, you have ONE chance to make a good impression, to catch attention. Practice your pitch (Steve Jobs used to prepare 1 hour for every minute spent on stage). Start with the most exciting thing, saying that you don’t have competition is the worst. Use numbers (statistics, users, revenue). Sell yourself and your team. Investor invest in people! And get advisors, as critical as possible.
Serendipity is amazing in Silicon Valley. They are like “crash on my couch” people with those who needed it.
The warm, welcoming and inspiring atmosphere of Silicon Valley hovered between our Startup Grind Cluj Napoca participants: lawyers, IT project planners, business drivers, programmers and marketing consultants. Entrepreneurs are as a different species: they see a problem, they solve it. Changing the paradigm, thinking and being disruptive is the path of following your passion and following the market in concert. Ask the people around you. And first: hire a designer! It will be painstakingly, but so worthy. People are visual creatures.
When the ideas above brought you inspiration, contact Dea for a valuable advice or contacts, plug-in to a network, apply to local accelerators, meet people and create a Lifograph account.
Dea’s involvement in Repatriot program is keeping her around the both Silicon Valleys and Startup Grind initiatives.
And don’t forget sharing is caring. ;)
