Networking in Venture Capital
Real life instances and useful Tips
#3 of 3 on #Networking in VC is here !
Some real life instances and tips are here to conclude this series
Why I decided to write on this : I noticed that a lot of early stage founders and those aspiring for VC careers fail at this and despite having all the rest of it
11. Collaborate
↳ Working together strengthens bonds - I was a client of a PR firm and she was our account manager. I respected the great work she did and thus, I had no hesitation in recommending her within the industry when the time came. Today, we share a valuable connection where we always exchange views on multiple topics and stay updated
↳ Look for opportunities to collaborate - if you hit off in a first catchup , it is rare and special. I tend to come back to it and look for areas to help each other. Very often, it takes off from there. The "trusted circle" grows
12. Share Your Journey
↳ Personal stories resonate - Rajeev Suri and I have shared why we co-founded BlueGreen Ventures with many VCs, LPs and Founders in our 'trusted circle' in the ecosystem
It's brought in tremendous support, new connections made and the weight of the past and the future has certainly felt lighter. It's like an army rooting for your success. We will see how much we realise but it gives us untold amount of energy to do our best !
13. Staying Humble
↳ Never act like you know it all - There is way too much knowledge and frankly #AI now out there for it to reside in one person
Yet, we meet these kinds all the time. People call them to events to take pics for their titles. They don't share the 'real stuff' with them
14. Be somewhat Persistent
↳ Don’t give up easily and reach out - especially when the first handshake is a hit ! There is probably a match of values and that's special to build on
15 Attend meaningful events
↳ Educational events are networking gold - I just attended a 20 people roundtable on #climate invited by CETFI Anika Raja and Sanmit Ahuja. It had professors, students, foreign institutions and government. The networking was far more enriching than a room full of VCs alone
16. Never overclaim your work and achievements
↳ There are Founding Partners who meet LPs and claim "they" led a bunch of successful investments in multiple funds they manage, that's driving the IRRs and DPIs
When LPs call the founders of these companies, they come to know the Founding Partner ( the only one who is left from the investment leads in those funds ) had met them for about 30 minutes in 5 years. And, that exited Partners led those investments. On the other hand, the exited Partners don't lay claim to any of the investments they didn't and give full credit where it is due
#Networking and #trusted circles are silent contracts that keep working for you protecting your work
Isn't that wonderful ?
Do keep following us on https://www.linkedin.com/company/bluegreen-ventures as we keep sharing more insights on the ecosystem
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