The City of Talent.
Every new environment is yet another chance, but also a test for your networking skills. After coming to San Francisco, I soon realized that this was not yet just another city, but rather, a magic, layered place that unfolds like an onion — ugly on the outside, but beautiful on the inside.
The concentration of talent in San Francisco is just unmatched. To me, talent is on the edge between professional development and spirituality — you can look at it as an unfair advantage in the job market, or as a bridge between the worlds of gods and men.
Regardless of how you like to look at it, this omnipresent talent is almost like an electromagnetic field, or a breeze from the ocean that affects everyone in the city at all times. To benefit from the opportunities that this colorful environment offers, I had to put my networking skills on the whole new level.
In this article, I list top 25 of my networking lessons learned this year in San Francisco. Overall, my personal strategy could be described in short as: everything, everywhere, all at once. An award-winning approach.
0. Why Networking?
I’m writing this article primarily because in our society, networking and social skills tend to be somewhat less valued than hard skills. So, is it worth to embark onto the path to become a good networker?
Well, there is a trade-off: the more time spent on networking, the less time left for building the actual project. Is it even worth it?
Well, I often remind myself about my undergraduate studies within the College of Interfaculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Warsaw.
Among ~500 students studying in the college at any given time (with a fresh batch of 100 souls admitted every academic year), I could see the same 100-150 faces at all social events. Other students only mingled with students from their local faculties, didn’t overdo with socializing, kept a steady sleeping schedule, and didn’t seek any extra adventures.
And what happened then? Despite spending more time on socializing, the sociable students tended to also have better grades at the end of the day. No wonder, as they had the best access to all the important information: internships, grants, exam questions from previous semesters, lecture notes from peers, parties, good courses and Teaching Assistants to pick, interesting people and projects. In other words, investing time in networking had a positive net effect on their careers.
I can give you another example why networking is gold. Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most famous fashion designers of all time, came to Paris as a young German maverick ashamed of his origin, and built his whole career based on hard work and masterful networking.
Lagerfeld was successful in networking in Paris for several reasons. His exceptional talent and creativity in the fashion industry, coupled with a keen sense of style, made him highly regarded among influential individuals in the Parisian fashion scene. His ability to adapt to changing trends and innovate within the industry contributed to his widespread recognition.
Furthermore, Lagerfeld's charismatic and sociable personality played a crucial role in building and nurturing professional relationships. He was known for his wit, charm, and ability to connect with people from various backgrounds. He was also strategic about his networking efforts: he became known for generosity targeted at anyone who might become useful to him in the future. The rest is history.
1. Just Enter The Ecosystem and Find the Hubs.
In San Francisco, all communities, meetups, and co-working spots are connected in some sense, and form a giant ecosystem. You can bump into the same people cruising through the city, jumping from one location to another, and they will subsequently point you to other nodes of this giant organism.
As a consequence, it does not matter which starting point you will choose. You just need to enter the ecosystem and then, ask around for recommendations for the people and venues you seek, and keep exploring the whole new land of possibilities.
But once you are in, you need to start looking for the hubs: the local “influencers” or “community managers” who host their own meetups, online communities (via Slack, Discord or other platforms), gather local following via Substack, are respected on Twitter, or release newsletters listing all you need to know not to miss out on local events.
The small-world structure emerges naturally in almost all ecosystems, and the startup world is no different than that. After a while you will notice that following 5-15 key figures will give you massive amount of information and will keep you in the loop.
By the way, one life hack that I came up with myself: it’s efficient to increase the small-worldness of the tribe by yourself, by connecting hubs with each other. This makes the overall flow of information in the network even faster (it’s easy to show mathematically) and the hubs will be grateful for spreading the news about their hubness and talking highly of their hub-like activities.
Mind that the people and you seek are not necessarily those who are the loudest and always in the spotlight. For instance, it’s often the case that while a CEO is energetic, noticeable, and focused on making buzz around their project and making as many superficial connections as possible, their CTO is standing right next to them hidden in the shadow and behaving much calmer — listening, observing, and looking for deeper, strategic connections.
Similarly, communities best for you are not necessarily the largest, most visible groups meeting in the most prestigious locations. Sometimes you can find them in the back yards, basements, local bars, garages, and other hippie places.
There is some conservation law here: the more people think about the venue, the less time they have left for thinking about the content. So, don’t judge the book by its cover.
And especially in the Bay Area, all the groundbreaking innovation in tech was originally incubated in small and informal circles, by friends tinkering together at home, meeting in local hacker spaces, debating by a beer in local bars. This culture of building innovation in a decentralized and bottom-up way was preserved until today, despite the big tech and VC firms transforming the landscape of the maturated IT industry.
OK, so let's assume that you hustled hard and found your people in San Francisco. Well, bad news: it's going to be way too many people and meetups to win them all every time. Of course, the vision of becoming a socialite by going everywhere is tempting. BUT, it will either end up in a burnout or, in the best case, pull you into full-on networking mode where your time for deep work shrinks to zero. Not mentioning that walking around exhausted and looking like a zombie doesn't make you any favor.
To make your networking sustainable, you will need to choose carefully and limit yourself to a few meetings a week. Plus, come to every meetup with fresh energy regained after many hours of peaceful deep work and self-care such as good sleep, meditation, exercise, or whatever makes you reset. Balance, balance, balance.
One comment about interacting with hubs of the local community in San Francisco: they are charismatic. I mean, REALLY charismatic. I am mission-driven but after meeting a few people who are highly outspoken and seem to be obsessed about their mission, at some point I started questioning whether my own mission is important enough. So, watch out: networking in San Francisco is a real test of charisma, perseverance, and self-belief. You will meet multiple people who will try to drag you onto their side and join their mission or movement. If your conviction in your own mission is not strong enough, you might follow the temptation and join them.
2. Adjust Your Networking Scheme to the Tribe.
While traveling around and interacting with multiple working cultures, I couldn’t ignore the local differences between written and unwritten rules for networking. For instance, while in Amsterdam you are expected to first send an email before trying to call someone, in the US people call you during the day without a notice.
At first, it was annoying and I found it difficult to fully indulge in deep work knowing that the phone can ring any moment… But eventually, I developed enough cognitive flexibility to adjust. I also noticed that people tend to call less over the weekends, so I deliberately made weekends my working days to take advantage of silence on the line.
Another example of a seminar difference in working culture between Amsterdam and the Netherlands is the time line of deal making.
Americans are natural deal makers. Just like elsewhere, there is no free lunch in America… BUT people are much more patient here when in comes to (time) investments and building social capital. They will share information with you and help you out with your projects, hoping that you will remember their contribution and pay back when necessary, even if it means waiting 10 or 20 years.
On the contrary, Europeans are instant deal makers: I give you an apple, and you give me an orange back and pay cash. Now.
Adjusting to this difference also took my a while. I initially expected that once I give people something, I will receive something back right away. But I soon realized that the mechanics of networking is different: you can expect that your good karma will unexpectedly come back to you one day, usually in the form of a positive recommendation or invite to some private event. You don’t know when and how.
In the end, I started helping people without asking much in return. While networking, I chose inspiring discussions over sales as my main KPI and focused on contributing in order to reach the wisest and the most experienced people.
Please find more findings about the differences between European and American business culture in my article “Startup Culture in Bay Area vs Startup Culture in Amsterdam.”
3. Networking Isn’t Traveling In a Conventional Sense of the Word.
In traditional, common understanding of traveling, the time necessary to walk from point A to point B is, roughly, proportional to the distance between the two points. Intuitively, it should work similarly with networking: the more handshakes between you and your target contact, the more time it takes.
My personal impression is, however, that networking undergoes a different metric: it resembles “the intentional machine” as described in the classic piece “The Never Ending Story” by Michael Ende. In “The Never Ending Story,” the time necessary to get from point A to point B would reflect your desire to get to your destination: the stronger your desire to get there, the faster you will achieve your goal.
Once people notice your hard work, talent, and enthusiasm, they will help speed up the process for you. You will be surprised where you can get once people see flame in your eyes.
Of course one element of the desire is also focus. San Francisco is full of temptations: clubs full of attractive people, arts festivals, open concerts, famous touristic sites.
I’ve met multiple people who came to the city on behalf of their startups, and then instead of living modestly and lazor focus on the networking events in the field, they were spending thousands and thousands of dollars on lodging, restaurants, parties, and sightseeing. No wonder they didn’t get anywhere.
4. Always Ask Yourself “Why” — and Multitask.
Time is not made of rubber, so use it wisely. Before making any major investment in your network, ask yourself a simple question: “What so I aim to achieve? If this action really worth the effort?” It might turn out that even the best possible outcome remains a loss of time.
Furthermore, especially if you do not have anyone to delegate your branding to, you need to learn how to multitask. Prioritise tasks that support multiple goals at a time.
For instance, on May 12th 2023, I organised a a charity career development workshop at Noisebridge, one of the major Hackerspaces in San Francisco. Casting this one 4-hour event contributed to seven of my personal goals at a time:
Building relations within Noisebridge — always good to be an active contributor to a legendary community like this,
Building my case for my incoming visa application — charity work on behalf of American labour won’t hurt,
Building my reputation as a public speaker,
Getting new contacts and potential leads from out of my comfort zone for coaching and other services,
Getting leads for cybersecurity jobs so that I might potentially get affiliate commissions from cybersecurity companies in the future,
Promoting my recent book among the workshop participants,
Helping my friend Nicole with building her portfolio and reputation as an event organizer.
You get the idea.
I also believe in multitasking in networking as a rule of thumb: review your social capital and all the active contacts you have. Group people of similar background, expertise and interests together. When you ask one person in that group out for lunch, you could invite others too. In that way, you can keep in touch with multiple people at a time, develop a stimulating conversation, and become a networking hub at a time.
5. “How To Win Friends and Influence People.”
Referring to classic book by Roberto Cialdini, on the fundamental level networking in person is simple. There is always a way to warm up someone to the idea of getting top know you, for instance by praising them. And if you have nothing to praise them for, why do you want to network with them in the first place? There must be something to think of!
The best and most sneaky ways to immediately catch a good vibe are to say something that doesn’t sound like a compliment and yet, most people enjoy hearing it.
For instance, the grass is always greener on the other side. I soon noticed that most Americans enjoy hearing that they think or act like Europeans — just as if it was any form of achievement. Coming up with these original, non-obvious yet efficient strokes (without lying in the process!) is a great game in itself, and rewarding for both sides. I luv it.
Also, learn your game! Ambitious people tend to be ambitious in all areas of their lives and always attempt to “win it all” instead of consciously choosing when to go for the win and when not to care (or even, when to lose). For instance, when playing poker or board games with friends, they put all their mind power into winning and get irritated or even mad at their companions when they don’t. I used to act this way too. Now I usually tactically get myself beaten up whenever I feel that winning would not support any of my core life goals, and use this opportunity to praise people for their intelligence and mint new friends.
6. How To Find the Right Person at a Meetup?
The startup world in the Bay Area is bubbly these days. Tech meetups are full of almost random *founders*, for the following reason:
And let’s be real: most (business) meet-ups are too brief to even get a chance to shake hands with everyone. Of course, you'd rather avoid spending the whole meetup chatting in the corner to a few random people only to figure out that you have nothing in common and the conversation doesn’t clay, only to find out that the lights go off and it’s time to go before the party even started for you.
My approach to this issue is as follows. When attending a birthday party from a friend or family dinner, I chill. It is leisure time with no particular objectives other than bonding with people by spending some time together. BUT while attending a business meetup, I am at work and there ARE deliverables. So, I need to focus and make sure that my time is spent well.
There are two possible cases here.
The first case is when I know precisely whom I need to meet or what piece of information I need to learn. In that case, I simply ask around as precisely as possible and I let the attendees guide me toward the right corner of the room.
I know that many people (and especially guys!) have hard time asking questions, but believe me: entrepreneurship is NOT a type of activity you should get on your plate if you cannot ask for help.
The second case is when I don’t have a specific aim at the meetup, and yet, I’d like to spend the time in a productive way. In that case, there are a few approaches line can take.
The Leisure Approach.
Just join a few circles of people speaking (I’m talking about a typical standup meetup here) and stick to one where the conversation absorbs or intrigues you. Even if you feel you have nothing to add to the table, you can approach the participants later, praise them for interesting insights, and ask them follow up questions one on one.
The Detective Approach.
On the contrary to what many people believe, the most important people usually behave modest and keep themselves in the shadows.
Actually, the top dogs tends to behave quite the opposite: they often prefer to take strategic positions in the corners of the room from where they can observe the whole room. It’s usually their lapdogs who mingle with the crowd and act like attention seekers.
The Blunt Approach.
You can approach the staff (e.g., people checking in the guests or a bartender): “Who is the organizer?” and then go straight to that person, congratulate them for a good meetup, and introduce yourself. If you are bold enough, you can even ask “Who is the most important person here?” with a wink. You might actually get that news too.
The “Why Are You Here?” Approach.
In the worst case, you can always look for someone who looks like a newbie in the room: “What attracted you to this meetup?” They might tell you about some interesting person or activity at the meet-up who is definitely worth your attention.
Lastly, pro-tip: if you spot a guy looking 55+ and wearing sports shoes and a t-shirt, he might be really wealthy and well-connected.
7. Prepare For Meetups and Train Your Memory… And Follow Up After the Meetup.
Networking is not rocket science; it would be hard to come up with an algorithm for how to make best out of any generic meetup. BUT obviously, fortune favors the prepared.
Remember that attending a meetup is not enough to benefit from it (unless you get lucky). In fact, there is "before the meetup," "at the meetup," and "after the meetup."
You can expect the fastest results from your networking endeavours if you are selective: you choose meetups in a specific niche and browse for confirmed speakers and participants beforehand, attempting to memorize as many relevant points in their resumes as possible.
Obviously, no one is born with memory prepared for uploading hundreds and hundreds of LinkedIn profiles, but you can be sure that your memory will get increasingly better. For instance, if you loudly say these names multiple times during a conversation, you not only make them feel more appreciated and heard around you, bit you also better remember their names. Two birds killed with one stone.
If you have a weak memory for names, you can also use Twitter / X teach you all the important names in your area of the market in the same way as people learn new vocabulary in a foreign language. Namely, every time you encounter an interesting / influential profile on the platform (or find “the top 100 influential figures in X discipline” list at Forbes or so), follow them and make sure to press the bell icon. Then, you’ll get notifications every time the followed person posts or talks in Spaces. When notified, you can remind yourself who that person as, and repeat as many times as it takes to finally encode who that person is. You can encode hundreds and hundreds of names and faces this way.
Next, if you notice that some of your stories make most people smile or get them intrigued, keep them at hand so that you can tell these stories as an easy way out to bond with people.
For instance, I noticed that people in the Bay Area enjoy listening about Europe and about the cultural differences between the local business and “business on the old continent.” This is why I wrote an article dedicated to this topic and then, I shared the link to this article whenever it felt appropriate in a conversation.
Or, I noticed that my hand-made LinkedIn bands for my profile photo that stand out make people smile. So, I was making comments about it every time I connected with someone own LinkedIn at meetups.
Furthermore, for you, a meetup should start way before the doors open up to participants …and end way after the doors close behind you. Make sure that you send follow-up messages to all your new contacts and make sure that they remember you.
Of course, we all live busy lives. A good practice is to keep some weekly schedule here — for instance, sit down to your new contacts every Friday afternoon and take the time follow up, plus plan and research your meetups for the next week accordingly.
8. Keep Your Elevator Pitch at Hand… While Letting Others Speak.
Developing an elevator pitch is not as easy as it seems, and prepare that developing the pitch will be a process. My pitch in San Francisco evolved over time. I’ll tell you a little story here.
When I first came to the Bay Area in the summer of 2022, I introduced myself as a career advisor and a consultant (which is true) building bla bla bla… to soon discover that in the local circles, career advisors and consultants are on the bottom of the food chain (probably considered failed founders who are too poor to become VCs and too non-charismatic to become speakers) and no one cares about them.
I took notes from that. And so when I came for the second time, I improved my pitch. This time, I introduced myself to the community as a bootstrapping solopreneur (which is also true) building bla bla bla. Overall, I got a bit more esteem this time. However, my pitch was too long and I was getting impression that my past in neuroscience was still getting more interest than my business present.
I took notes again. When I came for the second time, I improved my pitch again. I realized that no one cares how I classify myself — as a founder, entrepreneur, solopreneur, career advisor, consultant or whatever. People only care about what I’m trying to achieve.
So, this time, when asked about my project, I was modestly responding: “I’m building the world’s first online career incubator” (which is also kinda true). In response, I was often hearing “This is interesting! Tell me more.” I guess I’m going in the right direction with my pitch. I wonder what the next version will be… probably some jaw dropper.
I’m sure you also have way too much on your plate and wear too many hats to summarize yourself in one sentence.
One possible solution to this issue is: prepare a few versions of an elevator pitch. Try to ignite a conversation with the other party and ask what they are occupied with, professionally. Then, while introducing yourself, choose the version of the pitch that is most likely to get them interested in knowing more about yourself. It is literally like a process of selling a product — and the product happens to be you.
It is also a good practice to keep a few versions of your bio and a high-resolution photo at hand. You never know when you might get an invite to give a talk or appear at a podcast, and having promo materials at hand won’t make any harm.
Also, let others speak about themselves in general, even if this leaves you with little room to introduce yourself. It might sound counterintuitive but people will actually remember you better if you let them speak instead of making a speech about yourself.
The truth is, people remember you for the emotions you bring to them, not for the information. And the feeling of being appreciated is the greatest among all. Peope just adore speaking about themselves, no matter what age, culture, social class, profession, or background story. It is a universally efficient ice breaker to give another person a floor to present themselves, and show genuine interest.
Not mentioning about the classic rules of negotiations. As a rule of thumb, whoever speaks last, wins as they understand their partner and their needs better. So, the moire you let the other person talk, the better you understand what they value and what they might be seeking at this moment.
If you need more hands on advice for how to make people enjoy your accompany and get to like you, reach out for the classic bestsellers such as “How to Gain Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie or “The 48 Rules of Power” by Robert Greene.
9. My Personal Approach to Networking on Meetups: Net Weaving + Triangulation.
So, what do I do after finally getting to the meetup? I typically set the frequency on my mind to the net weaving rather than networking channel.
If you are now wondering what net weaving is, it’s the opposite of networking. Namely, instead of trying to find people who can help you out, you try to find people whom you can help out. Net weaving is not only much more relaxing than networking (as instead of your own problems and image, you focus on other people’s problems), but also much more efficient.
And, as a matter of fact, you will experience much faster growth in your personal network when you start measuring your success by the score from your net weaving rather than networking efforts.
So, how does this work in practice? When I join a meetup and notice a familiar face in the crowd, I quickly look them up on social media searching for common contacts and for ideas how to help them right away. Then, I just approach and introduce myself. If I don’t notice any familiar faces, I just start a conversation with a randomly chosen person, start a generic conversation, get to know them a bit, and try to figure out if there is any value I can give. I also often ask straight in their face: “What do you need right now?” or “What’s your goal for this event?” People always react in a positive way to these questions.
While talking to two or more people, net weaving does not make all that much more sense anymore. Why would person A be interested in listening to me talking to person B about their needs? In that case, I switch to triangulation: I try to figure what these two people have in common or what all three of us have in common. If I remember a few facts about both of them, it’s usually easy to come up with an idea. Then, I just point to their commonalities so that they have a topic to chat about. Once this connection is established, I’m free to walk away and carry on.
After coming back home from a meetup, I often send follow-up messages. These are short, polite DMs aiming to remind the other party who I am and underscore that they can count on me. Something along the lines:
“Dear Aditya, it was great meeting you today and best of luck with your journey into the VC world! Even though I am not into climate tech like you, I hope that some of my contacts might still be useful to you. If there is any valuable introduction I can make for you, please let me know and I will do anytime.”
People meet dozens of new faces at every meetup, so reinforcing the good first impression using a private message will make you stand out and become more memorable. Don’t be surprised if you will start receiving unexpected introductions and inquiries soon after.
Needless to say, net weaving is a good choice especially for those who are naturally empathic and enjoy analyzing people.
One more comment about net weaving: in my experience, it greatly helps in overcoming social anxiety. In the post-pandemic times, many of us, including myself, feel tempted to choose working and networking from the comfort of our own homes. Why to face inconvenience and put yourself in jeopardy of getting judged when in theory, you can network from your own bedroom, in pyjamas and with your hair undone?
I had the same thinking. At some point, my reluctance to go out and meet other people went so far that I was getting somatic reactions before any meetup or conference. Every time I was about to dress up and leave my place, I was feeling dizzy and fatigued, or even getting fever. As soon as I was taking the decision to take care of myself and stay home, all these symptoms of sickness were disappearing in split second and I felt fine again.
And then I focused on net weaving. I was telling myself: "You are not going there to help yourself; you are going there to help others." And all the somatic effects of stress went away.
10. Learn the Magic Phrase.
And that phrase is: “How can I help you?” You wouldn’t believe how many interesting contacts one can get out of this one simple question.
The truth is, we are often unaware of how much we have to give until someone enlightens us. For instance, to my mind, 8,000 follows on LinkedIn is a micro-following. However, during my stay in the Bay Area I figured that to many tech founders, a shoutout from someone with that following (especially given that most follows come from PhDs from top-notch universities in North America and Europe) is valuable.
Besides, if you pitch for yourself as a person pursuing acts of kindness and open to collaboration, people will pay forward information about you while networking. And as a matter of fact, hearing about someone from second hand is much more powerful and encouraging than hearing their own pitch.
11. Make Yourself Useful…
…whenever possible.
As a rule of thumb, it is good to make friends with meetup organisers as they are typically well informed about the local environment and opportunities. So, observe the organizing team and their staff at meet-ups — perhaps they need something you might provide?
For instance, if you have a good camera on your phone and you don’t see any professional photographer at the event, you might ask the organizers if they are interested in receiving your photos afterwards. Meet-ups and conferences are often understaffed and you might bring relief to the crew if they know that they no longer have to worry about the photos. Simple gestures go a long way.
Furthermore, most meetup organizers make for a living from sponsorships. Every impression on social media is valuable for them, especially if you create a separate post dedicated to the event. Therefore, it is a good practice to post some positive text and comments about each professional event you participate in, and mention / tag the organizers. At some point, you will notice a surge in the number of invites that you receive. And some event organizers might even invite you to speak next time!
Not mentioning the fact that publicly thanking someone for organizing a (free) event, feeding and entertaining you is simply decent.
Furthermore, founders at early stage count every dollar. You might think thank giving someone a lift after a meetup or sharing a discount code for a local conference is a little gesture, but for them, saving $50 on a deal might be a great help that they would remember for years.
Next, founders often struggle with self-image. They are at the stage of their careers when they hear "no" from leads and investors every single day. Despite sleepless nights, they have to put on a kind face in the morning and pretend that everything is cool.
So, don't hesitate to let them know if you notice their genuine talent and or hard work put into their project. Don't repeat tje empty all-American phrase "Och, it's amazing!" Put some effort into your words and elaborate on what is so amazing. For so many people, it's all they need to keep going in challenging times! And yes, they WILL remember.
Lastly, as I also mentioned in the article "Startup Culture in Bay Area vs Startup Culture in Amsterdam," the American startup culture is based on the economy of favors. People make favors to each other and remember "the open tap" even thirty years later.
Of course, not everyone has a chance to ever become a successful founder, for all sorts of arbitrary reasons. Your job is to use your talent assessment and business development skills, bet on the most talented individuals and make sure that you help these people first, before you help anyone else. Harsh... but that's the way to go if you treat networking as a part of your professional career.
One comment about making yourself useful: sometimes, it requires going against your lizard brain. Lizard brain is the part of our minds the closest to the primitive reflexes of “fight or flight;” it gets activated when we feel endangered or attacked.
And, how do we feel while meeting someone who is extremely bright and makes fast progress in our own discipline? Often, endangered or attacked. The whole difficulty is to try to silence the lizard brain and instead of competing, help those talented people. They will remember once they reach their potential.
12. Set a Stop-Loss & Learn How To Finish a Conversation.
People typically complain that it’s hard to start a conversation. However, in my experience, it is incomparably harder to finish a conversation with grace and move on as it requires much more strategic thinking and assertiveness (by this occasion, I can mention that the most convenient way to start a conversation with a stranger is to utilize the Barnum-Forer effect).
So, don’t “go to a restroom” the whole time around! Everyone knows that it’s just a cheap excuse to end a chat. Not mentioning that while saying restroom,” you are planting an image of yourself peeing in someone else’s mind. It’s much better to end the conversation by saying “Let’s keep in touch” or “Pleas let me know if I can help you with anything. Hope to see you next time!”
Now let’s assume that the conversation doesn’t go in the direction you wish. For instance, you aimed to talk shop while the conversation flows towards talking about life or leisure. In that case, be patient. If you take time to properly bond with people, you will gain something from it sooner or later, no rush. Plus, the conversation might turn into an enjoyable and interesting ride despite it derailed from the chosen track.
However, sometimes, despite your best efforts, the conversation doesn’t go absolutely anywhere. The words just don’t clay, and the more you try, the more awkward it gets. In that case, pushing forward does not make any sense.
So, fail fast and go forward instead of trying to win everyone over. If it doesn’t work, it just doesn’t — don’t put more emotion into (business) networking than necessary. The day only has 24 hours, so with people, it is always quality over quantity anyway.
The way I like to look at it is as follows. I always approach a new person with open mind and open heart. In a conversation, I present a package. Namely, I attempt to give them a flavour of who I am: what I know, what I can do, and what kind of personality I have.
In a way, I send a signal to outer space and put on my little antenna listening carefully if there is any response. Some people resonate with me and respond on the same frequency while others don’t (well, many of them don’t when I think about it =]). And if I hear nothing back, I pass.
Of course, it wasn’t always this way. I believe that in my twenties, I was way too pushy and annoying as I couldn’t accept the spoken or unspoken “no.” I must have been pain in the ass to many. Don’t repeat my mistakes.
13. Don't Be the Mother Theresa: The "Secret Agent Intervention."
In my experience, many people lose points in the social game only because they feel the necessity to always share their opinions and feel the mission to improve everything and everyone.
I see this tendency especially in women: empathy presses them to "educate" others even when backlash is expected. Do you really believe that you can strengthen a 25-year-old golden kid after Stanford who misbehaves and belittles others thinking that they are more entitled to success than everyone else?
You don't need to be a Mother Theresa! Many people will feel criticized or patronized if you point to their weaknesses and comment on it, even when in good faith. Of course, you can be brutally honest with close friends and family, but that's it. Other than that, zip your lip unless someone specifically asks you for advice or for a roast.
And of course, in a community full of ambitious people and with limited resources, some conflicts or divisions will eventually happen. If you happen to find yourself in a toxic situation, for instance between two conflicted sides, it is usually best to silently fork yourself out (namely, use your full agenda as a shield and disappear) rather than trying to save the day, to solve the problem, and to make everyone happy.
Fortunately, the startup scene is large enough to quietly escape from uncomfortable situations. However, once in a while you find yourself cornered in a position in which it is hard to escape from someone's toxicity. In that case, you need to do your "secret agent intervention:" find the local sheriff who has impact on the community and explain the situation in confidence, and let them act while keeping your own involvement as low-key as possible.
14. Support Net Weaving in Real Life by Net Weaving Online.
Follow people in your network of interest on popular social media such as Threads, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Jump in once in a while to check if they don’t need any help or piece of wisdom by any chance.
These days, people don’t hesitate to openly ask the online crowd for opinion, contacts, advice, or even for a job. React to those inquiries promptly and it won’t go unnoticed or forgotten.
By the way, it is often the case that people have an uneven number of followers on various social media channels. Whoever is a major influencer on Twitter, might have a relatively small following on LinkedIn and vice versa — as these audiences have different profiles.
To contact someone with a large following, you can make use of this disproportion by choosing their non-dominant media outlets as it will give you much higher odds of getting noticed.
You can also get noticed in other, more indirect ways. For instance, if you follow a person on Twitter and then follow and on their first-hand contacts and get active in the conversations under these people’s tweets, they might actually notice and follow you (conclusion that you have common network so you might indeed have a lot in common).
There is even a scientific term for this: “social proof.” This heuristic (or, a cognitive bias as some people prefer to think about it) lets people follow the actions of their friends, following the philosophy “if so many friends find it good, it must be good.”
It is a really strong effect. Many C-suite members of Fortune500 companies invite me to contacts only because they noticed that we had had dozens of common contacts.
Of course, if you build interesting conversations online, it’s worth trying to bring the connection to real life. Who knows, perhaps you have even more in common than you realize at first and this person might become your client or business partner. Many startups and investments launched via Twitter threads.
You might be wondering: how to effectively network on social media in times of plurality? Twitter alone got a massive competition in recent months, including Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and many others — and it seems that the online society becomes an increasingly thin soup.
Well, as you might know. plurality is a natural feature of any biological system and any self-organizing network such as the (online) society.
Such complex networks tend to naturally arrange themselves into highly modular networks with uneven distribution of connections known as a small-world distribution.
Similarly, as platforms for online communication, social networks will evolve to the point where any Internet user will be able to choose between multiple platforms offering a variety of micro-cultures, features and perks.
None of these platforms will eat the whole market as it just goes against the rebellious human nature — as soon as some platform tries to win it all, ten new hippie platforms will pop to “give people a choice” and take a piece of the cake. And then a good chunk of the young generation — who always look for alternatives — will jump to the new platforms. Of course, advertisers will follow these users and their money.
However, the market leaders will likely stay the market leaders. Every maturated biological network reaches some point of equilibrium in which the main players occupy the most of the market while the tail of the distribution is diverse and dynamic. So, don’t be worried about your social media — the largest outlets such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram should still be there in 10 years from now.
When it comes to networking online, the devil is in the details. For instance, the user experience from using Twitter/X improves dramatically once you start clicking the bell icon on the profiles of the people whose content you really want to follow. All of a sudden, your daily feed will contain relevant content instead of the usual river of trash. On your journey as a networker, you will discover dozens of such little tricks and tweaks — it’s a funny game to play!
Next, remember that flocks of people often migrate from one online habitat to another. So, follow your tribe mates online. There is a diaspora of people using all kinds of online forums and messengers and depending on your area of interest, you might need different platforms of communication. For instance Elon Musk took over Twitter, academic community abandoned the platform and moved onto BlueSky / Mastodon, while VCs and startup founders stayed on X.
And, if you want to get in touch with someone who is particularly busy and hard to get to, look into their projects and people around that person. For instance, since I learned that Sam Altman invests in research on Universal Basic Income, I followed all the startups Sam Altman invested in, pressed the bell icon and started commenting on some of their posts to stay in the loop. Whether this strategy gets me somewhere, we will see… but historically, it did work quite well in the past.
Also, don’t be shy and invite interesting people and people whom your admire to your contacts on social media (especially LinkedIn). If you hesitate, why not try? You have little to lose. And the joke is, following has a snow ball effect: your contacts automatically become your followers and the more followers you have, the more likely next people are to accept your invite.
Lastly, online networking is essential to your career development in a sense that it helps you in being somewhere without really being there in person. Namely, it sets you free to go anywhere you want and without losing the access to your contacts. Personally, I travel between three countries (the US, the Netherlands, and Poland) but I'm always in San Francisco on my mind, as I stay in the loop: local newsletter lists, Slack channels, Whatsapp groups, webinars, Twitter/X threads etc.
15. Create a Consistent Image & Make Yourself Visible.
When you function in a multi-cultural environment, it will be hard for people to memorise your name and face. After all, our brains are specialised to recognise faces of our own ethnicity.
I often encounter the following issue: I briefly connect with someone on LinkedIn during a meetup and then, when i come back home, I try to find this person on Twitter/X and Instagram. And I discover that they made it impossible for me to recognize them based on their names and profile photos.
So, make it easy to remember and recognize you online and IRL! For instance, try to stick to one hair style and hair color for longer, and set the same exact profile name and profile photo across all your social media.
I understand that many founders and other contributors in the startup world deliberately choose to stay in the shadow — “money likes silence” after all. Yet still, it’s better to give a chance to find you online for all the people who casually met you in real life.
16. If You Can Write or Tell Stories, Do So!
People love following and connecting with those who have their own, original point of view.
For instance, if you are into blogging / writing essays, you can launch your personal blog on Medium, Substack, or Beehiiv. These outlets allow you to easily share your opinions on popular (or, controversial subjects) or your own findings and then drop them to people who might need this advice, e.g. when you meet people on events. Written word is still seen as noble and lets you utilize one text to make multiple connections across multiple environments.
If you prefer to talk and you have a gift for telling stories, you can try something else: use free transcription software such as SpeechTexter to talk to the screen, and then edit the text or use ChatGPT, Claude, or other LLMs to edit this text so that it reads like an article. And then, rinse repeat: post online and spread the news.
If you are a good talker and enjoy talking to the camera, you might also start a YouTube or TikTok channel, or even create a podcast. Nothing makes people bind with you better than inviting them rot a podcast and enthusiastic introduction in front of the viewers.
17. Get Yourself Mentors.
Find yourself mentors with 20-30 years more experience than yourself. Well, this might be the first point on the list but as a matter of fact, it’s hard to find mentors on day one. I would raster say: observe well and your mentors will reveal themselves in the process.
Plus, don’t choose for yes-men; look for people who will be critical in a constructive way so that they will ruthlessly point out all your mistakes. First you will cry, and then you will thank them.
And especially in environments such as San Francisco, the business culture supports informal mentorship. The Silicon Valley is like a temple where the more experienced noblemen are eager to help the youngsters grow. You would be surprised how easy it gets to find yourself good mentors.
In this place, I would also like to mention the issue of old versus new money. As Naval Ravikant once said, “Mercenaries work for money. Missionaries build for others. Artists create for themselves.” The idea is that, early in your career, when you are broke and green, you have to work for money. Once you acquire necessary skills and funds, you can build your own project and solve other people’s problems (i.e., build a startup). Once you get successful with that, you can proceed to becoming an artist: build projects to satisfy yourself.
So, the old money, namely the money made during the tech revolution starting 30 years ago, let to the rise of the whole generation of artists in the Bay Area: wealthy founders, developers, and VCs who can afford donating their time to any cause they please. This is why so much know-how floats around the Bay; you just need to reach out to people and you will be served priceless advice on a plate.
18. Don’t Undermine Introverts and Beginners.
In the startup world, it is usually the case that CEO takes the stage while the rest of the C-suite works “on the backend” of the project. Sometimes, both CEO and CMO are outspoken and hustle hard for the project, while the CTO works in the shadows.
When you go to meetups, it is worth talking to the quiet members of the C-suite though. While the CEO is fully focused on impressing others and drawing attention to themselves and the project, their quiet team members might be more inclined to actually talk and be curious about what you do.
By the way, the decision power in a startup solely depends on equity, not popularity. Even the calmest CTO has the same decision power as the outspoken CEO if they started from equal equity share. Therefore, it is often the case that CEO is the head while CTO is the neck. Talk to the neck.
Secondly, don't ignore beginners either. Of course, many of these dreamers coming to the Bay Area will need to learn the hard way that the startup world is not meant for them. While some of them will stay and thrive.
With investing in people is the same as with investing in stocks; it's best to invest your time and effort in people once they are undervalued by the market. This is when you can make real friends and this is what they will best remember your help. So, if you notice someone's talent and have means to help them, just do it.
Besides, my finding is that, modesty doesn’t mean a lack of success. I met tons of people around the Bay Area who are more successful than they think. They developed deep complexes as they are “just millionaires” while their friends are billionaires. They are “just Berkeley PhDs” not Stanford PhDs. They live in the South Bay not in the city. You get the idea.
The truth is, we are slaves of our neurotransmitters: our objective situation has minor impact on our sense of happiness than the individual ability to synthesize “the hormones of happiness.” So, even if you meet a person who seems grumpy, shy, or intimidated, don’t undermine them as they might be the most accomplished person in the room.
Lastly, it probably won’t be much of a surprise if I say that many people in the city are socially awkward: they spent their youth on studying and solving abstract problems rather than spending time on gaining experiences interacting with their peers. Not mentioning that many local founders are expats who didn’t fully accommodate to the American culture just yet.
Therefore, you can expect that networking in the city will result in hundreds of awkward encounters: situations when someone is staring at you and you’re desperately trying to read the other party’s intentions.
In such cases, never assume bad intentions. This is not a game of “Survivor” in which everyone tries to outsmart, outwit, and outlast everybody else by all means possible. People in San Francisco live and breathe the blue ocean philosophy. Plus they play a long-term game (which is a little longer than 26 days).
19. Watch Out: Your Reputation Is Gold.
As much as I enjoy the accompany of Americans, they are eager to put labels on people. They often develop opinions about others after one brief conversation. They use their gut and they either “buy you” or they don’t.
So, you have to always keep your reputation on your mind while making lifestyle choices — especially given that San Francisco is a small city after all. For instance, if you attend multiple late-night dance or pool parties as a lady, you can easily end up with a label of a “party-girl.” Or, if these parties are attended by VCs looking for entertainment, controversial artists and drug lords, you can end up with an even worse label.
Even if you limit yourself to business meetups and public working spaces, you still need to be careful. Americans tend to observe and judge your every move, including your dressing style or alcohol consumption.
It was a shock for me to discover that my American friends were following me at meetups and counting how many drinks I had. The other day I got a comment that “I got hammered” after drinking three cups of plain lager — which is a laughable amount of alcohol in the Netherlands where I live. So, be careful about your behavior at meet-ups and better sip your drinks veeeeeery slowly.
In the Bay Area, the business culture is tribal — when you invite someone to your network, it is a declaration of support for their tribe as well. Therefore, watch out whom you show yourself with on social media. It might be that your good friend ruffled some feathers the wrong way and an innocent photo in which you hug each other might close some doors for you.
Next, one important element of building your reputation is associating yourself with strong brands. Sometimes, it is an idea to accept a pro-bono talk only because it happens in a prime location or under a household brand. Or, pay for a ticket to go to an event where chances of meeting your idols in the corridor are high. Also, please don't shy away from mentioning any academic titles that you hold, or household brands that you worked with in your career in your conversations with strangers - this is a great occasion to build reputation and earn authority points.
Lastly, don’t let others pull you into slander talk. One of the detrimental American tribal habits that I also encountered was criticising behind others’ back. Well, there are two types of people: those who make friends by praising people together and those who make friends by slandering people together. Avoid the latter.
Furthermore, try to avoid sounding transactional. For instance, if someone you are talking to suddenly mentions their successful exit for $500 million and their new VC fund, asking them for a personal contact right then and there might look like gold digging. You can always come back to the conversation later.
You need to build a reputation as a person who makes other people feel (1) heard, (2) safe, (3) appreciated. So, build trust by becoming a person who focuses on the positives and mediating between people and who doesn’t share any destructive opinions behind others’ back.
By the way, you might know the phrase "kill'em with kindness." The truth is, while creating a safe place for others to speak, you become safer too. When you become widely known for being kind and helpful, no one can suddenly slander you without consequences for themselves.
Having that said, there is a great difference between being kind and naive. As Al Capone famously said, "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness." Better not to be a person who views the world as a happy pony land where everyone does a great job and has good intentions, there is no evil, and every story has a good ending.
It's not how the world works, and looking at it through a pink lens won't make it any more Barbie-like. It's best to be brutally honest with yourself, mindful, observant, and have a fair judgment of people. It's just that you better filter your worlds and keep some of your opinions to yourself - that's what kindness is.
So, keep your standards high. You need to be excellent to others and act with their best interest in mind, but others need to be excellent to you as well. If they are not, kick them in the butt as no one is irreplaceable. My personal rule is "the rule of seven gifts:" if people don't reciprocate my favors after seven gestures of support (seven pieces of advice, gifts, pieces of useful information, personal invitations, etc.), I simply stop supporting them and go on. And I believe that's quite generous.
Lastly, one crucial element of building and maintaining reputation is avoiding conflicts. This is not easy, especially in a competitive environment hosting multiple people with high degree of success and excessive ego. Walking away from problematic situations and avoiding these toxic and explosive people is a skill that most people only learn from mistakes.
The point is: while staying in close contact with those individuals can be harmful to your mental health, it makes perfect sense to still hang around in their circles as there might be a massive amount of know-how and opportunity involved. Therefore, one technique I can recommend here is strategic appeasement. This management technique might be counterintuitive but works like charm. Namely, it is developing an extra level of kindness and courtesy towards toxic people and acknowledging their professional achievements while keeping minimal personal contact.
For instance, you can approach such a person at a meetup and demonstrate genuine acknowledgement for their achievements in the field (even if you don't appreciate their personality or attitude). And then gently disappear. You can also make them little favors, e.g. share their content on social media, or get over your pride and invite them to speak at the meetup you are organizing. You'll be able to keep poker face for just one day, even if you cannot stand someone's accompany. I would call it “a shadow-ban in real life.”
20. Patience, Consistence, and Conscious Following.
First of all, almost no one can optimally build their network without having a system such as a personal CRM for professional contacts that you update daily, from one meetup to another. I had objections against creating such a system at first, but them I realized that in the startup world, friends often become clients and vice versa. Now I have one CRM for both friends & family, and leads.
And so you build your social capital day by day, record by record. Of course, from time to time, you will experience inflection points on your way to become a well connected person; you will just bump into the right person at the right place and time. BUT in general, building a personal network is a compound effect of thousands of small, everyday decisions such as “Netflix at home or a meetup in the city?” Don’t count on luck — develop the right habits that lead to a strong network in the long run.
People often wonder: "Why should I network if I have nothing to sell just yet? I first build my MVP and go networking when the time comes." Well, you always have something to sell: yourself. If not about projects, you can have a regular conversation about life philosophy and values.
Or, just ask questions and listen. Investors are tired with people pitching startup ideas to them 24/7. From experience, I can say that they typically enjoy it when someone is wiling to have relaxed conversation and listen to their life wisdom instead of trying to sell them something. Besides, social capital is like money in the bank: you accumulate it will use it later when you need it.
Furthermore, building strategic contacts and genuine friendships is more about paying small effort over a long period than having a great time and exciting adventures together just once.
So, show some initiative and catch up with people. Build trust by taking little steps toward others and little gestures over time. Use opportunities such as Christmas time or New Year’s Eve to ask them how they are doing and make personalized wishes. Also, don’t be pushy and don’t disturb people; don’t call them without notice and give them time to respond — for instance, record a voice message via WhatsApp rather than calling without notice.
Lastly, don’t buy into the rhetoric that everyone needs to be a leader. This narrative is one of the pivotal parts of the hustle culture, pushing you to fight for attention and place on stage, regardless of your personality type or natural talents… while so many people thrive behind the scenes rather than on stage.
When I came to the Bay Area in August of 2022, I had this first instinct to become a leader too. That’s what they all tell us at school, at work, on the media... Success equals leadership.
And so I started organising community meetups for founders in the South Bay under working name "Phantom Boss Network." I had no plan, no personal brand in the Valley, no resources, no visa to stay around, and no knowledge about how networking in this area of the world even works.
I don’t even own a car, and after participating in a few car accidents (including one earlier this year), I am too terrified to drive. In these conditions, organising yet any event on the American soil was a formidable challenge.
After miraculously managing to put together a few small events — mostly due to the immense help of my friend Nicole Borgaard & the serial Founder & then-CEO of Hacker Dojo, Ed Choudhry — I felt exhausted.
I forged a few precious friendships in the process, and the sentiment after the meetups was highly positive. But eventually, I realised that I am not supposed to play a role of a leader. Not here, not now. In my own business, I am the unquestioned leader and captain of the ship. But here, in the Bay Area, I was meant to be a follower.
And, being a good follower is as important as being a good leader. Communities are not created by leaders but rather, by their faithful followers. Those who acknowledge the leadership, cherish the community, attend the meetings, disseminate information, spread good word, listen to other participants, connect people, throw good ideas, help out.
Here in the Bay Area, there are dozens of strong community leaders who need engaged, active followers. As an engaged, active follower, you will be welcome everywhere and feel like you were on the womb of sorts. Plus, being an active follower and a connector gives an unmatched degree of freedom and mobility.
So, if you feel like a spectator or a maverick in the local community, don’t be sad :) Perhaps, you are about to become the most useful and the happiest person in the room.
21. You Are Somebody Too.
If you encounter one of the locally famous people or attend a presentation from a great, charismatic speaker, don’t be shy to approach and talk to them. Yes, there are lots of people with ego in the Bay Area, but most of those who got somewhere are modest on the inside. And remember: You are somebody too! There are hundreds of things you know better than them.
And don’t shy away from taking personal risks. Step forward and ask bold questions during public talks. Reach out to your idols and talk to them as equals. Remember the saying: There is no champagne without risk. You will be surprised how often open attitude and friendly approach beat status when it comes to shaking hands on deals.
Plus, these people are mortals like everyone else. The fact that they are well known doesn’t mean that they aren’t stressed about a public talk or so. They will appreciate warm words after the talk just like every beginner in public speaking would appreciate them. So, catch the positive sentiment and make connections in those moments when they step down from the stage with an expression of relief on their faces.
22. Find Local Tap with Information.
Every little tribe in the job market is different and communicates via their preferred channels. For instance, a large chunk of the academic environment ditched Twitter/X on behalf of Mastodon and other decentralized social networks, while the local VCs stuck to Twitter/X and the Bay Area startup world followed them. So, hunt for your tribe online as long as it takes.
* Recently, Michelle Fang created the “Starter Guide to SF for Founders:” a comprehensive source of information, listing not only local communities, workspaces, startup incubation programs and VC firms, but also housing opportunities or neighborhood breakdown. Highly recommended read!
In your networking strategy, mix networking on multiple levels:
Macroscale networking: reaching out to broader audience, typically online,
Mesoscale networking: operating in small groups that share common interests, e.g. meetup groups and online communities,
Microscale networking: finding individuals to professionally network with, preferably local hubs.
For instance, in the case of the local startup community in San Francisco, these levels might mean as follows:
Macroscale networking: (1) building the social media presence via LinkedIn, Twitter/X & Instagram (I'm getting the impression that Facebook is falling behind as a medium of communication in the Bay Area); (2) applying to speak at the local conferences.
Mesoscale networking: (1) following the leading weekly newsletters listing the incoming local events in tech (such as Cerebral Valley, SFIRL, or TechStars Startup Digest Silicon Valley) and attending some of the listed meetups; (2) joining popular local Slack groups for founders in tech such as Cerebral Valley, Llama Lounge, Gen AI Collective, AI Salon, Noisebridge.
Microscale networking: (1) scheduling a coffee or a Zoom call with all the interesting individuals encountered at meetups and conferences that might potentially have synergistic plans or businesses; (2) reaching out to people whom you can help via online communities and social media; sharing useful information and resources, offering time, substantive and mental support.
Also mind that there are two types of network search: exhaustive and non-exhaustive search. If you aim to find a particular individual, you need to perform an exhaustive search through the local community. In that case, the depth of your network must be substantially higher than in the case of non-exhaustive search.
For instance, if you seek to talk to Tim Draper, you will need two orders of magnitude deeper penetration of the local environment than if you wish to talk to any established VC, without specifying identity.
23. Don’t Put Yourself in the Spotlight.
Spotlight has one interesting property: the crowd chooses whom to put in the spotlight. If you try to put yourself in there, the lights will just go off.
Some people make this mistake: while interacting with their professional environment, they tend to brag and picture themselves as well connected and important. For instance, they post photos of themselves standing next to a big fish in the field, flex with deals they made, and report news only after they already benefitted from the first hand information. Their thinking is: “If people know how important and powerful I am, they will come to me willing to work with me.”
But that’s not how it works! All these flamboyant signs of power only annoy people. Instead, they’ll line up to work with you only if you communicate your power and might by simply helping them.
And what if you are so introverted that staying away from the spotlight becomes your default behavior? Well, remember that there are various types of charisma and leadership; not every leader behaves like an alpha female or female. You can find your ways of building powerful network without pushing yourself to act out of your character.
Even some of thew most successful founders of all time classify themselves as introverts, including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, or Larry Page.
While in San Francisco, I met dozens of great networkers who represented a variety of networking techniques. Just to name a few examples:
Zac Solomon whose strengths are: empathy, introspection, the ability to put his thoughts and emotions on paper. Zac writes a very popular weekly newsletter for founders where he shares his life lessons and insights into startup culture,
Sako M whose strength is leading by delegating. Sako is a team player who successfully pulls off projects by sharing tasks according to talent and interest and trusting in people he works with.
Atal Agarwal whose strength is an unconditional joy of life and authenticity. Atal has talent for captivating people's attention and inspiring them thanks to his positive energy and eagerness to share his professional mission day in day out.
24. Treat Networking Like a Game and Keep on Learning!
Gen Z often reports having hard time networking in person. In times of social media, we grew apart so much that for many, if feels uncomfortable to approach strangers in person, even in such controlled conditions as a business meeting.
But hey, don’t buy into this “snowflake” rhetoric! Indeed, we are all getting increasingly better at syncing with technology and at the same time, increasingly worse in direct communication with humans… but that’s not the reason to give up. It’s a reason to put more attention to learning and care more.
Do you think all these public speakers and Hollywood actors were born with their great charisma? Most of them are professionally trained in communications and acting. You can actually get professional training in-person communication for free, e.g., at YouTube channels such as Charisma on Command.
You can also train your memory, e.g. visiting the channel Ron White Memory Expert. There is a (free!) medicine to almost any of your issues with networking, just browse for it.
Lastly, as a conversation starter, it might help learning something about other cultures. E.g., as an undergrad, I used to watch some of the top Bollywood movies of all time; it was my shameless guilty pleasure back then. It so happens that the startup circles in San Francisco hosts a vibrant community of excellent Indian founders and developers. If you recognize just a few Bollywood stars, it is enough to connect with your fresh Indian friends, as actors and actresses are worshipped in India like demigods.
Also, every professional career is a game, and networking is a (seminal and joyful!) part of it. So, treat networking like a great game that offers amazing rewards such as friends, (mental) health, money, travel, relax, unforgettable experiences, or even love. Enjoy. Experiment. Find your path to success. Personal networking style is like a diet — there is no “one fits all.”
San Francisco is a mixed bag of people. In the process, you will meet imposters: those who seem to be people- and problem-oriented, and idealistic on the surface, while in fact are calculated, greedy, or even sociopathic on the inside, and feed on other people's ideas and achievements.
And, you will meet gems: young people who look and sound goofy, and yet, turn out to be hard-working visionaries with a background and network from Ivy League universities building solutions to the biggest problems of the today's world.
You need to develop your own, unique strategies as your own life hacks are the most satisfying among all. So, experiment! Sometimes, it takes counterintuitive actions to achieve your goals. For instance, in order to fly you need to first learn how to... swim. Yes, it's true — you cannot get hired as a steward or stewardess without being a great swimmer.
Similarly, I noticed that in order to learn how life in San Francisco / Bay Area works, I need to first learn about the topography and customs in... India. The local Indian minority is so prominent yet so undervalued that as little effort as learning a few greetings and meal names in Hindi and watching a few Bollywood movies opens many, many doors.
Another example. I discovered that on LinkedIn, choosing a reaction to a post which wasn’t chosen by other users (among 6 options to react) draws attention of the author of the post to my profile. I also found out that in principle, it is beneficial to the the first person to comment on posts, and using free online speech-to-text tools such as SpeechTexter makes me really fast.
Another example. I have bright green eyes with dark ring around the iris. So, when I take a seat at a business meeting, I tend to choose seats that let a beam of light shine onto my face, as then I get piercing eye sight and I can stare at the other party like a wild cat. And so on and so forth. You get the idea.
Lastly, when it comes to playing the networking game, be patient and catch your individual rhythm. If meetups wear you down, limit the time spent in public places as much as it takes to keep homeostasis. Don't compare with others as it's a long-term game. It works way better to attend one well researched meetup well suited for your purposes per week than network at random every evening.
25. Learn a Few Brutal Truths About Networking.
Last but not least, it is good to accept a few simple truths about networking that might be harsh and yet, so helpful.
If people say they don’t care about something, they do care about it. For instance, when they say they don’t care about age, they DO care about age. You can recognize that someone doesn’t care about something when they never mention the thing.
If people say they don’t have time, they don’t have time FOR YOU. 99 times out of 100, it means that you or your problem don’t matter and you should capitulate instead of hoping they will find time for you in the future.
When people say “I’m not judging but…” Yes, they are judging.
If you tell a story and the only thing you hear in response is the phrase “It’s interesting,” it usually means that it is NOT interesting at all — your interlocutor is bored to death and probably hasn’t even been listening to what you’ve been saying.
If you cannot develop a fluent conversation with someone, you are boxing and you go down to the level of meta-discussion about communication styles and rules, it is probably not going to work between the two of you and you will end up with a communication breakdown regardless of how much energy you put into it. So if you don’t need that person for your networking purposes, just run at that point.
People only care about themselves. Your job is NOT persuading them that you are worth caring — this approach is doomed to fail! Instead, your job is to find synergy between your goals and the goals of the other person, so that by working together, you both win.
If you believe that you can make everyone like you, you will end up bitter and disappointed. The truth is, no matter how kind and helpful you are, your success always raffles someone's feathers. The only people who don't have any antagonists are those who achieved nothing. So, manage your expectations... and if you feel like everyone enjoys your accompany then well, that's probably bad news.
If someone is guarded in your presence and doesn’t take off the mask, you won’t force yourself through. You either click with people or you don’t. People can be self-protective and keep you away from their real identity and their circle for many reasons: safety, different environment, different outlook on life or politics, just (justified or not) lack of trust. And sometimes, you and your demeanor just don't appeal to their personal taste, that's all. All you can do is to make one little step toward them: open up a little, and observe if they are willing to return the favor: make a small step in your direction, and "dance with you." If not, you just have to go on.
Finding people who are smart and/or successful is easy; finding people with low ego is hard.
People don’t read in minds. If someone says “Och damn, I have so much X!” and you say, “My God, I would love to get some X!”, don’t expect them to give you any of their X. You need to plant the instructions on their minds as precisely as possible. So, if you say: “Can you please give me some of your X?,” you are much more likely to get what you want.
Virtually any situation is either a disaster or an opportunity (and usually, it’s an opportunity!), depending how you look at it. For instance, when the traffic at Twitter/X started dropping earlier this year, I got sad about it at first. I thought to myself: “So much work over the years, and even an article on networking via Twitter (!) written and published for nothing…” But then, I noticed that the big names in IT industry and VC firms stayed around at Twitter/X. I rung the bell at all profiles I found interesting and started commenting on the content. Because of low traffic, I was often the first person to comment on new posts at my idols’ profiles. This got me lots of new contacts and opportunities.
You have to learn your shortcomings on the path to greatness. M networking improved dramatically when I learned that I have a resting bitch face and I simply cannot afford NOT smiling or otherwise, I just scare people out.
There is a thin red line between healthy opportunism and machiavellism. Sometimes, being optimal in your networking habits is just not optimal in the grand scheme of things as it comes across as too cold and calculated. Sometimes you just have to let go.
Most people suck at networking, so don’t put your expectations too high. Even people with high IQ will misinterpret your intentions, unintentionally offend you, or show lack of empathy. I am regularly called a Russian, asked if Poland and Holland is the same thing, and get all kinds of weird and offensive proposals at business meetups. So, take networking with the inventory.
Prepare yourself for a loooot of fuckups. For instance, the fact that we are using English on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean doesn't mean that we use the same expressions to describe the same things. And I don't mean the punctuation, but rather, the convention of speaking. E.g., in American English, saying "Could you please do this?" means: "Do this here and now!" Meanwhile, in European English, the same phrase means asking for a favor with no expectation of delivery. On the contrary, in European English, saying "I'm sorry!" doesn't mean anything. Especially in the Netherlands, people say "sorry" 20 times a day for no apparent reason. In the US, I also overuse the phrase "I'm sorry!"... and then experience cumbersome situations when my interlocutor responses: "Please don't be sorry…" and I'm like "I'm not sorry, duh!" To sum up, in San Francisco you will be swimming in a multicultural environment. It’s almost a Babel Tower. That’s why, sometimes, it’s better to forget about charm and seduction, and put the cards on the table: let go of mystery, do the reality check, and explain with atomic precision how the situation looks from your perspective and what you need from your interlocutor.
Networking is like a game of “nervo” in which you will be challenged with lots of infuriating stimuli and your job is to stand still. You will face idiots who become multi-millionairies just because they found themselves in the right place at the right time, and their co-founder did all the job. You will face idiots who were born in wealthy families and who sit in your board without contributing anything but their ancestors’ cash. You will face angry crowd of “common citizen” on Twitter and IRL — people who have no idea what entrepreneurship is; who hate entrepreneurs by default and believe that we get rich by sucking blood from our employees. You will meet with an expression of contempt on the faces of your corporate relatives at a Christmas dinner. Again: your job is to stand still. And smile.
A Word on the City of San Francisco.
Lastly, most of the advice given in this article is applicable to networking in any city but let me add a few remarks about San Francisco specifically.
The startup culture in San Francisco differs from other cities as it is much more open. Unlike, say, in New York, people share the demo of their projects without the fear of getting scooped here. So, if you come here, you will be expected to openly share your professional mission and a pitch on what you are building, without hiding behind NDAs.
Networking in San Francisco gives a flavor of social media in real life. Namely, interactions are often brief and superficial. There are plenty of people whom you bump into at every meetup, and yet, every single conversation is a small talk. You have to put on a happy face and smile even if you have a bad day, as failure is a weakness. If you don’t grow a thick skin and don’t learn how to build and maintain close friendships in this superficial world, you might simply get depressed.
San Francisco is a tight city planned on a grid and with logic street names. If you rely on your feet and memory more than your iPhone and Uber, and if you choose to walk to events, after just a few months you will have an almost complete map. of the city center on your mind. I believe that learning the map of central San Francisco bit by bit from one event to another greatly helped me in feeling like home here.
In San Francisco, it is much easier to make money than to get laid. Yes, it’s not a typo. I went to multiple meetings that were supposed to be dates… and instead, they ended up with a side-project, affiliate agreement, coaching deal, planning an event, or something else. I’m telling you so that you are prepared for the Great Frustration.
San Francisco provides. If you stick to your professional mission, reach certain level of excellence, and network well, you can be sure that sooner or later you will enjoy benefits from your work… but not necessarily in a way that you planned. Which is great! The city will amaze you with its abundance. When I arrived in San Francisco in the spring of 2023, I was primarily planning to learn about AI. Now that I spent a few months in the city, the next levels of possibilities get unlocked one by one: scouting options, speaking engagements, etc. So, start from a position of a passionate person with a strong personal mission, communicate your mission clearly and consequently, and keep your eyes open — and the city of San Francisco will provide.
Networking is a probabilistic game — and that’s especially true in San Francisco: even with the best strategy and making the best effort, some portion of your results will depend on luck. You might suddenly meet the right person at the right time and experience an inflection point in your career, but it won’t happen if you don’t leave any space for improvising. So, beyond any strategy you have, leave yourself a margin of time for freestyle: unconstrained networking beyond your comfort zone. Indulge in random conversations with random people. Go to Burning Man. Go to a party with furries. Go dancing in SF. You might bump into fascinating people who might turn the course of your career.
San Francisco is a living, breathing organism that changes constantly. Workplaces and hacker houses are often ephemeral — they open, blossom, and close abruptly. If you come back to the city after a few months of absence, don’t be fooled — you will have to relearn the map of “who is who” and “what is where.” It’s both the best and the worst thing about the city. So, don’t assume that you know the city and prepare for every single journey to SF: reconnect with local friends and browse for the current options.
Disclaimer.
One disclaimer I’d like to make here is as follows: if you are coming to the Bay Area to live your dream and build the Next Big Thing, you should know that it’s waaay harder than you might think. Real life is not the “The Silicon Valley” sitcom (well, for the most part).
We use to hear about success stories on the media; in fact most people who got successful with their startups had failed multiple times before, and/or found themselves in the right time at the right place. Building a seemingly cool solution to a seemingly big problem — just because you can technically build it — is way less than enough to succeed.
Firstly, there are various types of innovation. You either need to present technological innovation, or propose an innovative business model, i.e. a new application of the existing technology — but not a mix of the two, as otherwise, you will likely fail. Secondly, you need to surround yourself with people of high skill and low ego. And it’s not that easy to find these people in the world of old money.
Plus, most successful, profitable startups today are not as cool as one might think. I would call them “boring” companies. These are typically businesses offering some form of logistic solutions — either digital or analogue — to other business. Nothing that would sound groundbreaking or inspiring to an average Joe, and nothing that you would intrigue your grandma at the Christmas dinner with.
…While so many young founders I met in the city try to be cool! When you enter a random meetup for founders in San Francisco, you can be sure that 20% of the attendees are trying to create some new version of Tinder. You see, they happen to be looking for a girlfriend and they came up with a “genius” idea to kill two birds with one stone. Another 20% of the attendees are fans of “The Social Network” movie and dreaming of creating “the web3 version of Facebook.” Et cetera.
Luckily, most of these young people are learning in the process and despite their projects will likely fail, they will at least acquire priceless skills and street knowledge in the process.
You might say, “Hey, there is so much money floating around the Bay Area!” NVIDIA’s mid-level managers make $1 million a year, Meta’s top engineers make $2-3 million a year. VC firms invest hundreds of billions every year. Yes, it’s true… but it doesn’t mean that as a newcomer, you will have an easy access to this money. The money in the Bay is highly centralized and flies around in closed loops between VCs, small selection of startups, and big tech. It’s really hard to break through this barrier and get under the tap before the living costs in San Francisco eat all your savings.
I’ve seen dozens of my friends leaving the city disappointed as long months of networking at local events didn’t move the needle for them. The bottomline is: when you plan a trip to San Francisco, come with a plan. What do you want to achieve? Whom do you need to reach in order to get there? Are you sure you are on the right track with your startup?
Conclusions.
So, did I succeed in my networking endeavors? In the end, I made a few good moves. I organized a charity career development workshop at Noisebridge, one of the iconic hacker spaces in San Francisco, and spoke about job market for women in tech in times of AI at the Google Developer Groups #DareToBe Event. I co-organized the first edition of the AGI Buzz Conference and an expert panel dedicated to the impact of AI on the job market at the legendary hacker space, Hacker Dojo. I built hundreds of strategic contacts around the city found myself mentors and friends.
Of course, I could have done better, but I’ve also seen worse. But hey, networking is all about learning on the fly and I’m sure my next trip to San Francisco will be much more fruitful.
You might be now asking yourself: why is this insane person revealing all her networking secrets instead of keeping them as her private IP? Well, we all know who Magnus Carlsen is… but can we all become Magnus Carlsen? The rules of the game of chess are public and yet, not one can match Magnus’ strength of play. Besides, I also want to be increasingly better at networking and I would welcome any feedback.
What is the most important to me, I keep my personal networking style without making compromises. I am slow but steady and systematic. It’s a long term game after all — and I’m planning to live really long!
And lastly, is it worth visiting San Francisco in times when it resembles Gotham City more than a regular town? Well, I believe that we live in times of technological AI revolution, and since San Francisco is the cradle of AI, I expect the city to profit from the associated outburst of productivity.
That's why I feel optimistic about the city. I believe that one day, America will recall that its wealth stems from here and finally deals with homelessness, crime, drugs, and social inequalities. But only time will tell.
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Did you enjoy this read? Don’t hesitate to connect with me at LinkedIn!
Please also take a look at some of my previous articles on effective networking strategies in general: