Startup2Startup, a popular invite-only Silicon Valley networking event, held its 7th get-together last night, bringing 140 entrepreneurs together. The event is the brainchild of Dave McClure, the venerable startup angel investor who recently joined Founders Fund, and the event sponsors include some of the top VCs in the valley.
The monthly event consists of a dinner, with an invited speaker or two giving a presentation followed by moderated table-by-table conversations (plus healthy lobby chatter before and afterwords). Startup2Startup brings together three types of startup people: startup rookies and students; entrepreneurs and startup veterans; and investors and experienced corporate employees. See the photo set of the night’s activities and introductory video below:
Part of the event’s success has been the ability to pull in big names to speak, including Chad Hurley, James Hong, Naval Ravikant, Matt Mullenweg, Toni Schneider, Reid Hoffman, Matt Cohler, Paul Graham, and Jessica Livingston.
The featured speaker last night was Amy Jo Kim of ShuffleBrain, who gave a great presentation on the psychology and practices behind successful games and how to apply them to web apps. Showing how gaming principals make many popular sites work (with a case study on YouTube), Kim’s talk gave practical advice applicable to any social media site. Here’s the slideshow:
The table conversation allows the startup “rookies” — defined as being a part of their first startup (or not yet part of one) and having raised less than $1 million — to ask whatever they’d like about business, make connections, learn from veterans, and meet investors. My tablemates at last night’s event included Rashmi Sinha, CEO of SlideShare, Matt Cutts from Google, and founders from various startups including Apture, Foodzie, techVenture, Life360, among others. Each table brings a good mix of first-time founders, people itching to do a startup, investors (typically both VC and Angel), seasoned entrepreneurs, and a moderator. The conversation is generally open, engaging, and off-the-record.
February’s speaker will be Jeffrey Veen of Adaptive Path and Google fame. The price of the event is $40 for the invited rookies, but we’ve procured five free tickets for TechCrunch readers. All you have to do is 1) be a startup founder, rookie, or wannabe and 2) leave a comment below explaining why you want to go. We’ll pick the best five submissions and send the winners to the event.
UPDATED:: Here’s the entire video of the event:
This sounds like a great event. Would love to pick the brain of angel investors and VCs to figure out what they’re looking for in a potential investment given today’s bleak economic climate (revenues? user growth? new markets?).
My name is Robert McLaws, and I work for a startup that is making significant headway in the Criminal Justice software market. I would love to go, because I have been running my own small company in “startup mode” for almost a decade, and I was never able to get the flywheel going, as it were. Now, I work for a company that I believe is a few months away from getting that flywheel going in a big way, and I’d like to be able to learn from seasoned veterans how to leverage opportunities while growing smartly. Since I’m going to be helping with business development, it would be great to be able to further build out my “brain trust” network of experience that I go to for advice. Plus, having moved from Phoenix to Tallahassee, FL recently, I’m about as far from Silicon Valley as it gets, so it would be nice to be able to get out there and make some more connections.
Thanks for the consideration.
Robert McLaws
XPedient Technologies
Thanks fo rthe opportunity (even if you don’t pick me). This is just the type of thing that can make a startup. I just graduated in June and have put my career asparations on hold while I help my friend with a startup. We think we’ve found a novel way to enhance social networking even further. We are always looking for sage advice, but we’ve had a F&F alpha running for a bit and are ready to look for funding.
I would like to go. We’re attempting to raise capital in this tough time, and it’d be great to hear what season veterans have to say.
I’d also love to get the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs in the same position as me, and this seems like a good way.
Look forward to hearing from you guys soon.
agreed
freefreebiefinder.com
in for invite
Sorry I missed this one… too busy yesterday but I’ll be there next time and I’ll hopefully see you Henry!
nevermind, my broke ass cant make it to silicon valley, free ticket to the event or not. damn you investors!!!
What date is it on? Some of us only fly in-and-out of SF briefly.
Feb 2/26
I have all these great ideas but I am either too busy making money for my agency or second guess my ideas.
Would sure like to pick the brains of veterans.
“pick the brain” is one of the most overused and ineffectual cliches ever.
LOL !
how about “eat their brain” instead, has a slightly more zombie-ish/hannibal feeling! LOL!
I want to go because I am on my second startup, and the areas that I have chosen to focus my work on do not pay large dividends (re: $) but do make a large impact (re: socially). And I believe I could use the event to power both of these ventures.
Previously, I started a nonprofit organization with the goal of empowering American voters by educating them on the 2008 political candidates stances on individual issues. It went very well, but as it was a nonprofit in this economy it was difficult to raise funds via donations.
Because of that, I was forced to move to a new start, this time in the area of new media. Specifically, I am working on creating an online video company that keeps average working citizens in the know re: politics and news.
As this venture is of a for-profit nature and our BP (sorry Guy Kawasaki) is strong, we are excited about the possibility of socially conscious startup actually paying dividends (pun intended).
Anyway, thanks for the shot. Love it.
Our startup has some great talent with a lot of experience but little in terms of startup or VC help. We have someone doing some ghost work for us who has started several startups in the past but is unable to sign on 100% until the project is funded or profitable. We’ve met with some VC folks, but because we’re not based in the Valley or NYC, it’s going to be difficult to get anything but angel funding.
We do have a few customers already and will probably be profitable in the next month or two, but the experience of someone who’s been through this is invaluable and something we’d likely not have access to without an opportunity such as this. It could be a great break for a group who’s not physically “connected.”
Nice to hear that such events exist out there. I’d love to attend one if there were any such thing in small cities where i live (Springfield, MO). If anyone in Missouri is looking to start one of these events, please let me know.
I’d love to discuss ideas on how to get more people into entrepreneurship, especially university students.
And beyond that, I’m interesting in hearing how investors think the economy is going to restructure. Startups will definitely play a role in that.
Being a fresh college graduate and working on your first startup can be tough. I’m the co-founder of a SaaS startup that is in the midst of developing a beta after great feedback from an early alpha (which we demo’ed at TechCrunch50 actually). Ambition and drive go a long way, but sometimes asking for help can save you loads of trouble in the future. I would love to talk to both the industry veterans and rookies with some of the challenges we’re facing today and what kind of strategies would be best to overcome them. Additionally, with most of our sales coming from B2B, this kind of networking event would be perfect for getting in contact with some of the right people.
First of all, sounds like a great event and a wonderful opportunity. I currently do not work for a startup, quite the opposite, a very large regional bank. I have in the past run a startup, a small web development company, in the late 90’s. Needless to say it didn’t end with total market domination and financial independence. So I think I land squarely in the rookie camp.
The reason I would like to attend is two fold. First I was recently approached by someone who is starting up right now and needs a partner with a technical background and business to business sales experience. That’s where I come in. The department of the bank I work for produces, manages and sells all the banks online products. My job is to get business to bank with us because of these products. Before that I worked as a product marketing manager for a company called BindView out of Houston Texas. Secondly, and much more importantly I live in Rigby Idaho. My guess is that the population on a Saturday morning at your local grocery store is larger than the entire town of Rigby. So as you may imagine, unless I want to start a company with an innovative way to grow, harvest or produce spuds, I’m kinda out of the loop on quality “startup” advice.
We are well underway on this new project and are committed to seeing where it takes us. The plan is to continue working at the bank until we identify a viable business model that results in actual money in our account. It would be invaluable beyond belief to sit down for an evening and chat with the kind of folks you described above.
Cheers,
I’d love to come up from LA for the day. Having been in development mode for the last 7 months and now having launched (pennypuddle.com), I would love to be able to talk with some old hats about moving from the development stage into the marketing and running the company stage.
I sit here in the middle of Tech-industry no-mans land. Far from a culture of veterans and/or rookies who’s passions and ambitions reflect my own or those of the Techcrunch community. As the operator of a start-up I would find the privilege of attending a blessing and an honor. To be able share ideas and learn from veterans and rookies would be an opportunity that I have not ever had the pleasure to partake in. Up into now, my only communication with members of the tech industry have been through the techcrunch community. It would be and opportunity that would not be wasted ( not that anyone else who won would waste such and opportunity either) and never forgotten.
Hi. I’d love to go too. I live in Sydney, Australia and would gladly pay for the return air ticket and time taken to have the opportunity to meet and speak with Silicon Valley veterans and new start-ups alike.
I never have the opportunity to meet with people like this – my start up operates out of a warehouse in the bush on the very northern out-skirts of Sydney (Yes … it’s stinking hot right now). Not too many like minded companies around where we are.
We’ve been developing a pretty “full on” Flex-based (flash) CMS for some time now that enables anyone to build massive (or tiny) web sites without restriction (ie it’s full wysiwyg, everything id drag and drop – in fact the system and web site is called dragndrop.com – not online publicly yet).
I haven’t ever rubbed shoulders with other entrepreneurs in this space so for me this opportunity would be very unique and valuable.
Hi,
I would be very interested in attending this event. I have been for more than a year trying to understand and getting involved in start up culture. I have been helping a small startup cause and in spare time involving with business plan and contests. Here is my latest artifact http://www.mind...er.com/14969498 . I would like to know more about how I could get into this.
Cheers
Folks, this is an awesome and phenomenal event. Get to the next one should you find yourself so lucky to be invited.
Henry, it was good meeting you and having you as a table mate last night. Hope to connect again.
Why do I want a free ticket?
‘Cause I got laid off…
I’m sick of the corporate mindset and have vowed to spend the rest of my life doing something I’m passionate about. While I’m still trying to figure out what that is, I know it will involve a startup or two along the way. I would love to go to this event and would be very appreciative to TC if they could make it happen for me.
It would be absolutely fantastic to attend this type of event. My company is actively looking for expansion capital and in need of exposure. We’re not a tech start-up rather a B2B conference company that leverages many of the technologies that TC highlights. For example, we have our community on Ning and our website on hubspot. More importantly, we have a real business model that is already profitable in year one. Our gross margins average 60-70% and our market is valued at 35 Billion annually in the US. My hope is that we’ll find capital so we can execute our strategy. With today’s market turmoil, we’re poised to continue our growth and have the opportunity to create a new kind of conference company. This event will assist us with getting where we want to go. Thanks for your consideration.
Awesome. I’d love to go. First because I’m a sponge and live to learn. Second, because Streamy (http://www.streamy.com) is going to blow up and I want to introduce myself to these guys. Third, LA is too sunny and I need to soak in some of that SF fog. Thanks
Wow! Streamy looks cool.
I’m a UC Berkeley undergraduate majoring in Computer Science. I started my first Web company when I was 17 with my Dad, and created a somewhat-successful string of websites. Currently, I’ve been trying to create a start-up in the mobile field. I’ve already created a popular product, but unfortunately my lack of experience in networking, business operations, etc. has really put me at a road-block.
Despite all my efforts, I have not been able to find a mentor to help me with my start-up dream. Although I’ve been using all the entrepreneurship resources my university provides, I feel like this opportunity will really provide me with invaluable information and guidance that I won’t be able to get anywhere else.
Thank you, Henry for the article and scoring 5 tickets to a totally great event for your loyal followers like me.
After 20 years in consumer marketing for Fortune 500 corporations, and medium-sized public and private companies, I headed off to the start-up world. I was not the founder but the second executive onboard a start-up so the experience was both eye-opening and invaluable on so many levels.
From that experience and others, I am almost ready with my Sequoia-based business plan (I’ll definitely complete it by the Feb meeting). I know the space, the audience, and the technology, and I know that it’s fundamentally different and better than what’s currently out there. And I know that I’m going to need the help of an entire village to get this thing to-market. I’ll start with one villager at a time and the Feb event would be a great place to start. I’m lucky that I’m local so getting there would be no sweat.
Thanks for the opportunity, Henry.
Nina
Thank you for this great opportunity. While quite entrepreneurial, this is our first foray into a true start-up. We have been working on 2 projects that are both expected to launch in the next 30-60 days. We are working in the social media space and leveraging it to contribute to larger goals of enhancing education and heightening societal optimism. We are very new to the start-up world and could definitely use some help in learning from others, sharing our ideas and meeting people as we are completely funded by myself and very understaffed. Luckily, we are close neighbors as we are located in the east bay.
Hi, I’m on my first startup after years in the hardware world. We’ve got a team of about 6 energetic young folks with different talents working for no money but passionate about what might happen. The average person, and many of our family members, say this is a crazy time to be starting a company but I strongly disagree. I think this is a great opportunity for people like us with very little in the way of ‘insider’ contacts. TechCrunch has been one of the best resources to get a sense for the industry but it’s not like being face-to-face. We’re about to launch in the next few weeks so this is extremely timely! Thanks.
Envy. Living in Texas not only is it difficult to break into the club of passionate entrepeneurs and VCs located in CA, but I often don’t even hear about things until long after they’ve happened or when it’s too late to make arrangements for travel. What a great opportunity it would be to participate and learn from those who are already doing what I want to be doing, and maybe my POV from the deep south would be interesting to others. Love to have a chance.
For over a year now i have poured sweat and blood into trying develop my first startup. As a full time student with two jobs and my startup I have been trying to meet the right minded people who share the passion and determination to make a successful startup. Located at the university of utah, many students here have the technological skills but lack the drive to be part of a successful team. I have posted many times for tickets to events and have been unsuccessful thus far. Last week i was recognized by the university of Utah as well as opportunity Quest and received the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award. It recognizes young professionals who have the passion and drive to start successful businesses. There is nothing more that would help build on my dreams as attending a conference like this that introduces me to like minded passionate people.
I thank you and look foreword to the possibility.
thanks for the writeup henry, and glad you could participate in last night’s conversation
one thing i’d like to mention is that Startup2Startup isn’t just one person, but really a team effort by many folks who help organize, moderate, produce, and support the event. there’s no way we could pull it off without the active help of many smart entrepreneurs & generous investors in the Silicon Valley community (not to mention tech blogs like TC).
in addition, Startup2Startup itself is not an original innovation, but rather borrows heavily from the style of Round Zero back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, prior to the last dot-com downturn. several folks who participated in RZ, such as Leonard & Mike Speiser, provided insight into how to structure our event. Leonard in particular has been a great partner in crime for me in getting S2S off the ground, and early support from Katherine Barr & Saar Gur along with other VC sponsors & Microsoft help make it happen.
anyway, the point is that just like it takes a village to help raise a child, it takes a bunch of geeks & VCs to help raise a startup… and in the current economic environment, startups need all the help we can give them!
Henry and TechCrunch,
Your blog post feels like tech fate! My name is Jared Montz and I am a 26 year old professional soccer player and the founder of a start up; America’s 1st Online Soccer Academy at http://www.jmsoccer10.com.
My site has been in beta for a month in a half and officially launched live just hours before I saw your post. I wanted to keep it quiet over the weekend just in case there were a few kinks but I couldn’t resist commenting after seeing your post.
My business is a safe way for youth players to learn soccer online on their own time. Features include; 2-3 training vids a month via the internet, private profile page, juggling chart to keep records, game review forms to keep team and personal game statistics, message center players can message me with, chance for players to win a $1,000 college scholarship, and much more. It’s all done on players’ own time and parents don’t have to drive anywhere!
This is a subscription base business model. I got the idea in the summer of 2008 and have been working 24 hrs a day since then to get it to this point. I already have paying members who pre registered before the site even went into to beta.
I would love to attend this event just like everyone else out there. I think I could bring something unique to the table as I have created a truly brand new idea, already have paying members before it opened, and have a product that is something people are willing to pay for. That is what Paul Graham was saying on the startup2startup page about monetizing early and getting the product right.
Thanks for your consideration Henry and hopefully I will be seeing you February 26th!
Jared Montz
http://www.jmsoccer10.com
Well, you could definitely put me in the “rookie itching to do a start up category”. I moved to silicon valley 3 years ago because I wanted to be close to the startup action. I left my day job 18 months ago to get rid of the cushy job feeling. Since then, I have built up a sizable capital via various consulting gigs and some lifestyle changes.
I have been looking to team up with like minded entrepreneurs to kick ideas around, including couple of my own, to see what can be launched. This event sounds like it will attract exactly the kind of entrepreneur partners I am looking for. Plus, it would be great to learn from experiences of startup veterans and VCs.
Hope to hear from you! Thanks for opening up such an event to all of us!
Tech Crunch Readers:
We are a non-profit no advertising site trying to stop the bailouts. We launched 2 weeks ago. We are looking better everyday.
I’m inexperienced and this is the only way I know how to spread the word. So excuse me for interrupting. But I am worried sick about our kids’ future as we head down a path to federal bankruptcy.
72,000 uniques have come in the past 5 days to see the Redneck Bailout Rant Video.
If you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to take a look. It is extremely funny, though with profane language throughout.
We aggregate everything related to the bailouts.
News, Comedy, Opinion. All day every day.
It’s all for our kids.
And a completely money losing venture for myself.
Thanks a ton, DailyBail
Captain McClure, permission to come aboard sir!
I’m the founder of http://www.Govit.com, and passionate about making sites which make the web a little better place to be. I’m also a freak about user-experience.
I consider myself a newbie, but with some experience– I’ve kept my startup afloat for 9 months and still going strong.
I give as much as I get, and willing to share secrets with the group; as well as make your investment of time and knowledge pay off.
Thanks!
couldn’t pay me enough money to be “invited” to an “insider’s” party. That’s so against the spirit of SV entreprenurialism. Show me the ones who make it out of their garage any day.
I can understand the desire to avoid any ‘exclusive’ clubs/organizations. But I think everyone needs help, and it’s worthwhile just to see what other people are working on and feed on some of the energy.
just a way for dave to make himself feel powerful is all I see in it. It’s a power trip is all.
invitations are based on peer recommendations & merit, not insider connections. we purposely structure the event so that 1/3 of our attendees *are* out of the garage. in fact, every month we turn down / turn away folks who are accomplished entrepreneurs just so that rookies will have more spots.
if there was one primary reason I created this event, it was so that poor white trash West Virginia hillbillies like me can break into the SOB club and get connected with experienced entrepreneurs & investors. it’s taken me 20 years in the valley to earn a seat at the table, but it shouldn’t take that long for the next generation if we just give them a hand.
“some dummy” can always rail against the darkness, but I’d rather light a candle.
I completely agree Dave, but it makes me think of the old Grateful Dead song which goes “dawn is breaking everywhere, light a candle, curse the glare.” Some people will always find a reason to complain.
And was that an intentional Eleanor Roosevelt/ Adlai Stevenson reference?
We run a similar event to this in New Zealand, matchmaking technopreneurs with investment community. Tech presentations are available here:
http://nz.youtube.com/UPW2W
you can meet all of the people mentioned here in many free events around the valley…dave is clever to create some buzz by making it invite only…this is the cheap trick played over again and again…if you have little experience as entrepreneur you will figure out that these people talk some thing on the stage, when you really talk in person, they are completely different
jk, you are completely right…you’ll find Dave and his honchos at open events all around the valley. Absolutely no need to go to S2S if what you want is just a peek.
But, if you go to those events, you’ll be competing with about 1,000 other rookies for a chance to give a one sentence intro and a handshake. At Startup2Starup the ratio is pretty much 1:1 and you can have a leisurely discussion over dinner. Using your logic, if Barack Obama invited you to a private dinner, you wouldn’t bother going because the inauguration was open to the public.
I’ve been to the open events around the valley, and they have certainly helped a lot, but it really isn’t a valid comparison.
This event would be a great boost to bring my startup concept to reality! I work as a healthcare consultant in San francisco at the moment but am chasing my dream of being a successful startup. I am implementing my business plan for a web based service that will make it easier and more efficient to rent apartments or houses in any city worldwide. I will be making craigslist a thing of the past!
I would greatly appreciate an opportunity to network and share ideas with many successful entrepreneurs!
This is my first start-up and I’m currently several hundred thousand short of raising my first $1 million and actively pounding the pavement (def: start-up founder rookie). Sosido Networks is a social media web application for healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc.), which revolutionizes the way healthcare knowledge is distributed across the world. Sosido’s mission is to democratize healthcare information by hosting a global, multidisciplinary conversation which creates better ways to deliver care and improve patient outcomes across high and low-resource regions. We have completed the initial technology development work and have a live and functioning site at http://www.sosido.com. We have established partnerships with a number of healthcare associations who will participate in our beta, and advisor relationships with several of the largest pharmaceutical companies. I believe we are in a great position to take off.
It would be a fabulous opportunity for me to attend Startup2Startup. Thanks for considering me for an invitation.
Tanis Steward
Co-Founder & CEO, Sosido Networks
I have written a cross cloud scripting language. It works with Amazon, Mosso, GoGrid, Google, and some smaller ones. I would be interested in talking to some veterans about building a sales channel.
I’ve heard a lot about Dave M. through friends in the Persuasive Tech lab. I’d like to learn more about how considerations of a user’s behavior while *not* engaged with our product might be used to inform our development cycles. More generally, I care about opening feedback loops that can teach us about the context (ie. life/world) in which our product exists for a user.
My startup has a seed round of funding and we want to learn from the vets how they repeatedly made (or did not make) intelligent decisions when confronting questions/challenges from the seemingly infinite (and growing) set of issues outside their core abilities.
In an uncertain world, I’m just trying to rack up extra lives and get to the next level.
Thanks for continuing to empower entrepreneurs with opportunities like this.
My startup is http://pycasa.com and we are trying to build a search engine and greater search experience for FSBO properties. When the market turns around, I think this will be a great market. I would only want a ticket if you thought it was a worthwile site that could benefit from this kind of thing right now.
By the way, to Taylor: I really like the concept of govit.com and always had aspirations to create a site similar to that. Instead, my partner and I opted for pycasa.com, though.
The States seems to have such high number of quality events like these, priced reasonably enough for us “rookies” to attend. The only thing similar thing I’ve seen in the UK are the Glasshouse events which don’t seem to have the intimacy of this type of event.
Also I wonder if people in the states are just more social and open when it comes to networking?
http://www.twitter.com/swim007
I am one of the two founders of a German startup that developes a platform for study abroad where students can directly apply online to universities anywhere in the world.
I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I am psyched to meet other entrepreneurs everytime I can. As the US startup scene is a lot more lively (and probably a lot less beaurocratic) I would love to meet these people to get an idea on how things are done in a different environment and to hear them tell stories about their experiences.
Here is something to share with the rest of people reading this post; somewhat (hopefully not too much) relevant song by Tim Draper from DFJ http://www.theriskmaster.com/
I’m founder of Tunezee, a music search and discovery service. In previous life I was involved with an automated spoken language testing startup from very early stage. I’d love to pick some smart brains on what we are doing with Tunezee…
You can play The RiskMaster ‘Guitar Hero’ style here http://www.jaml...nd.com/song/172
Here’s why you should invite me:
1. I am a chick and if there’s one thing harder than a poor white trash West Virginia hillbilly breaking into the SOB club, it’s a chick entrepreneur breaking into that same club.
2. I have been slogging through the start-up mud for some time now on barely more than the aroma of Angel funding. I have managed to get 15 experienced engineers, designers, artists, copywriters, and IT guys to build our product because we are all passionate about our offering, its genuine usefulness, and its ability to generate lots of revenue. We are within a month of getting out there – we’ve built it, but we know that’s just the beginning. I’m smart enough to know that sticking an “invite friends” button on my site ‘aint gonna make me viral – I need launch advice, and I need it from those who have been there before.
3. Once there, I am hoping to dazzle at least a few veterans with our start-up’s vision, and build some great relationships. With the help of good advisers, my goal is to be on the other side of the fence one day, and I’m not stopping ’till I get there. So….invite me, will ya?
Hello!
I work on a start-up with five other students in order to improve middle school educational communities. You should invite me because all six of us chose to take an entire year off school (Olin College) to pursue our passion for this start-up.
Additionally, we’re from the Boston area but hoping to relocate to the valley, and this would be a great chance to look around at the area and make connections out there.
I’m passionate, driven, and would love to attend the event.
Sounds like an amazing opportunity. I am a college student from NY and am the the founder of a web company that is recreating the discussion model for the web. We are moving away from the linear discussion model and making it more visual. The project started to really take off so I took this upcoming semester off of school and got a one way ticket to San Fran. I really did not know anyone here so I am couch surfing and trying to make connections anyway I can. This will be a great chance for me to meet other web entrepreneurs in the area.
Thanks for the consideration.
Jeff
My name is Ankit Agarwal and I am a start up rookie. I’m the Founder & CEO of Micello, Inc. I’m 22 years old and started Micello about 18 months ago. We’re currently based at the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale. I recruited folks from one of the top companies in the Bay Area. My three co-founders have 15-20+ years of experience in their respective fields. We’re at the stage where we are actively going out to angels and VCs to raise money.
I would really like to attend this event because Startup2Startup is one of the few events in the Bay Area that focuses exclusively on connecting first time entrepreneurs with established professionals in the community in a very comfortable environment. Folks have told me that the objective at the event is not to necessarily to “sell” your product or give out as many business cards as possible, but to understand how the valley works and to get the right info.
For example, I was discussing with our founding team how much we should budget in our business/financial plan for employee salaries. I realized that I should talk to the “been there and done it” folks to see how they answered such questions. How much salary do you pay once you get an angel round of funding for an employee? It it 40% market rate + options, 60% + options, how do you figure out the appropriate number of options? These are tough questions that can have significant impact on the company, and getting perspectives from people who have answered these questions before is very valuable.
My objective at the event is very straightforward. I want to meet people, share my leanings and stories about Micello with other first time entrepreneurs, and get the opportunity to hear from experienced folks who have helped guide countless companies before mine.
My linkedin profile is at:
http://www.link...n/ankitkagarwal
Thank you.