By Larry Chiang
Networking at places you are not invited to is intimidating…
Brady is my shih tzu and he is a connector. Having a connector is like a catalyst that lowers the activation energy. When you are starting up a business, or building a start-up or just starting up your FICO score, it is great and awesome if you have a connector that builds connections, introduces you to mentors and facilitates ‘networking’ (I see starting a business as crashing an industry because they entrenched incumbents see you as a threat. Ditto if you’re starting up your FICO score)
Here, Brady has opened the door to enter the field…
Networking at parties you crash has three areas that I focus on. They’re very similar! Here are the three areas where I network uninvited:
– Money. Money has an industry with unwritten rules. I network at credit industry conferences because your interest rate determines how much you pay to use OPM (Other People’s Money)
– I network uninvited at VC conferences. Entrepreneurs use money that belongs to a venture capitalist. I network at these parties because I like how street smart VCs are. I like how many people VCs know. I do not like VC money. Its like a mortgage. Ideally, you own your mansion in Atherton, outright.
– I like to network uninvited at Business Schools. The b-school is chock full of knowledge about accounting, finance and organizational behavior.