Ive recently made it my goal to have at least 2 lunches/coffee meetings a week with new people I find interesting, that I look up to. A person who I had breakfast with, a VC here in OC, has this saying “your network is your net worth”. Theres a whole lot of truth in that statement. I’ve sat in on screening sessions where businesses have gotten funded on practically nothing other than the relationships that they have within the industry. Call them what you want “distribution, partnerships, affiliates”… business boils down to relationships between people. In order to get funding, build a team, sell a product, or sell a company you need people informing you each step of the way.

One of the concepts that I learned early on from one of my mentors was to always give value first. Meaning.. be a resource. Give someone a introduction, advice, or even something material before asking for anything. Robert Cialdini in “Influence” called it reciprocity. I call it being tactful. The universe works in mysterious ways. If you always approach each relationship with the intention of giving value first, you’ll get rewarded someway somehow. Guy Kawasaki calls it being a “mensch”.