The Supremacy of Warm Introductions
This is part of my ongoing Series on Entrepreneurial Culture.
In the tech world, we hear the term “warm introductions” bandied about ad nauseum, often from the horse’s mouth—namely, that it’s the best and sometimes the only way for entrepreneurs to meet angel investors and venture capitalists. A so-called warm introduction occurs when person A introduces person B to person C with an express endorsement of person B. Person A is basically telling person C that they are vouching for the character and worthiness of person B.
That’s the explicit message, of course. The implicit message is quite powerful as well and can best be expressed by what types of behavior just won’t suffice when it comes to introducing yourself. The short list includes some or all of the following admonitions:
Continue reading here for the original post on Amex OPEN Forum.
Recent Comments
thanks for the note Helen, my condolences... (fully agree)
Death of a Mentor: Reflections · 11/27/12
Find an amazing person, and I guarantee, s/he had at least one far more amazing person guiding them :). I was lucky enough to have two that were also my parents, both of whom I lost recently. The pain and loss are intense for me personally, like the loss of your friend, but I'm guessing you feel as I do, these guiding stars touched a great deal more than our lives, and the world is a little bit darker without them in it!
Death of a Mentor: Reflections · 11/27/12
We always remember our mentors, don't we? Powerful forces. Tough when they pass. Hope you are well, my friend. Thanks for having me on the list.
Lessons from an Old Master · 11/13/12
Your enthusiasm for chess, entrepreneurship and family are infectious David, lucky kids...parents and teachers should be heed to your admonition about keeping it fun, it is surely the best way to keep folks engaged...
Lessons from a Young Master · 11/01/12
Thanks for weighing-in Frank... those are some heavyweight companies... Pinterest: BOOM... Comixology: BOOM... student entrepreneurs can really take advantage of these cutting edge programs many universities are offering these days that go beyond "old-school business plan writing" and offer lots more...
(and we need to get you on Disqus soon!)
d
What Every Student Entrepreneur Needs to Know to Succeed (7) Grants & Competitions · 07/23/12
Great post David! Several startups have emerged from the venture competitions at NYU (a/k/a the Entrepreneurs Challenge) including Pinterest, The Hotlist, Course Horse, Comixology, etc. As one reader points out it may not be the solution for every startup, but it has proven to be a great source for many...not just to non-dilutive funding, but also to helping gather market feedback, develop skills, building a team along with a strong group of mentors (both from the competitions, but also from the exposure teams receive throughout).
What Every Student Entrepreneur Needs to Know to Succeed (7) Grants & Competitions · 07/23/12
RC you make some strong points... thanks for weighing in. I bet you and I would agree on a lot of things- as we've both seen some damage done by bad advice. And yes, of course, with the right person and right motivations- all that interdisciplinary experience can be invaluable.
dave
Mentorship Gone Wrong: Three Things to Watch Out For · 06/30/12
As a lawyer I can't say I entirely disagree with the comments re the damage that can be done by even a well-intentioned lawyer, but I think the underlying point isn't don't listen to a lawyer on anything other than how to "paper the deal;" rather seek out people who share your interest and passion, and if they have skills or experience that you don't and that are needed then so much the better. Those with previous entrepreneurial experience are at the top of the list, but if the person meets the first test then isn't legal (or financial, operations, marketing, sales, etc) training and/or experience a bonus - assuming they haven't been entirely corrupted by law school a/or private firm practice?
Mentorship Gone Wrong: Three Things to Watch Out For · 06/30/12
Hi David, thanks for writing this insightful article. I'm a entrepreneur at Yale and it's been quite a journey getting our startup up to speed so far. Everyday there's just so much more to learn, and I appreciate you giving advice to students like us!
What Every Student Entrepreneur Needs to Know to Succeed (3) Know Something! · 10/19/11
Great post, Dave and it is exciting to see meaningful entrepreneurial activities like this at Columbia!
I’m a student in the Berkeley-Columbia eMBA program based in the Silicon Valley and it would be great if we could find a way to get the BCEMBA community involved with the entrepreneurial activities at Columbia notwithstanding the geographic distance as most of us are not located in NY.
Our current students and recent grads are in management positions at places like Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Intel, Oracle, NVIDIA (just to name a few…) and a number of us (myself included) are working on startup ideas. It would be great if we could realize some synergies between Manhattan and the Silicon Valley.
I’d be happy to explore possibilities with anyone in the Columbia venture community who’s interested.
David Zilberman
BCEMBA 12’
zilberman@hotmail.com
A New Breed of University Entrepreneur Arrives on Campus · 02/10/11