What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
1–10 of 50 posts
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#2Great article.
The first thing I do when mentoring noob entrepreneurs/founders is ask them about their networks.
"How are you growing it?"
"Who are your mentors?"
"Who are your mentees?"
"Who are the big-wigs in your network?"
I have found, much to my surprise, given that I'm a "black belt ninja networker type" (apparently;per the article) that people haven't really given much thought to these questions.
They know (or get the sense) that having a strong network is important but they've never really worked on building it.
This article provides some good insight on how to build your network. Specifically it makes it clear that in order to build your network you MUST NOT BE SHY.
It also makes it clear that it's work.
As I like to say: "Building your network requires, well, that you build your network."
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#3Great article. The first thing I do when mentoring noob entrepreneurs/founders is ask them about their networks. "How are you growing it?" "Who are your mentors?" "Who are your mentees?" "Who are the big-wigs in your network?" I have found, much to my surprise, given that I'm a "black belt ninja networker type" (apparently;per the article) that people haven't really given much thought to these questions. They know (o…
[deleted]
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#4I remember meeting Mike Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt, and he said that he "hates being pitched to [unsolicited], I'll probably think its a bad idea. I thought twitter was a bad idea.." Not sure how that changes with CrunchFund.
My guess is that some Angels/VCs are way more approachable than others.
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#5it's a tough thing to accept, but you outlined it pretty well. most things don't just happen. nobody believes it's the time, place, moment and right person to "risk" being declined, ignored or laughed at. and that's so wrong. people who succeed, typically, tend to be a bit more open than others. everything else is an excuse to hope for pure chance or being discovered. and in all reality, try it with beers, go to a bar, hit on a random girl, just to get started again. it will be really, really tough at first.
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#6getting good at "game" has led to improvements in almost every other aspect of my life, including pitching.
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#7I remember meeting Mike Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt, and he said that he "hates being pitched to [unsolicited], I'll probably think its a bad idea. I thought twitter was a bad idea.." Not sure how that changes with CrunchFund. My guess is that some Angels/VCs are way more approachable than others.
i was working for MSFT a while ago, and at every conference i showed up, people totally started pitching me all the time (i wasn't in M&A, so why even?). i loved being approached and hear new ideas, but fact was, 9 out 10 things were incredibly sad and boring, produced by crazy folks. i mean, i feel bad for their passion and me not getting it, but a lot of things just were far from any success. and that made me lose interest in seconds, which brings me to the point that it was less about being approached (what's a minute or two), but more about hearing a lot of bad ideas. for a good idea? i'd listen an hour if I have the time.
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#8Maybe my case is unusual because YC takes applications online, but I don't like it when people walk up to me and "pitch" me by reciting some preformulated speech about their startup. I can almost never understand what they're talking about. And it makes me feel like a target, in much the same way it probably does to women when guys walk up to them and recite preformulated pickup lines.
The unit of conversation with a "tech celeb" need not be a pitch. I'd suggest trying an ordinary conversation instead. I don't know about other people, but it would definitely work better with me.
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#9I remember meeting Mike Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt, and he said that he "hates being pitched to [unsolicited], I'll probably think its a bad idea. I thought twitter was a bad idea.." Not sure how that changes with CrunchFund. My guess is that some Angels/VCs are way more approachable than others.
Agreed. While most people (incl. me) can benefit from moving outside their comfort zone and be more assertive, you still have to use judgement/discretion. It's a challenging line to tow. I've got it wrong at least as many times as I've got it right. I'd like to think that my instincts in this regard have improved over time.
Re: What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs
#10Maybe my case is unusual because YC takes applications online, but I don't like it when people walk up to me and "pitch" me by reciting some preformulated speech about their startup. I can almost never understand what they're talking about. And it makes me feel like a target, in much the same way it probably does to women when guys walk up to them and recite preformulated pickup lines. The unit of conversation with a…
I'm curious as to how often this happens (in person). Is this a weekly occurrence?