My friend Andrew Chen has posted his thoughts on meeting people at conferences. Great list if you are in the mood to meet folks in your industry. Here are a few of the points:
- Use pre-conference time wisely
- Arrive early for some 1:1 time
- Sit next to interesting people, and introduce yourself
- Bring business cards, and ask for business cards
Some of these things might appear dead obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don’t follow them. Fact is, even if you are shy about meeting folks, other people are as well. Keep in mind, the main reason why people attend these events is to meet people.
Andrew, btw, just moved to Silicon Valley from Seattle. He’s an Entrepreneur in Residence at the VC firm, Mohr Davidow Ventures on Sand Hill Road. Sounds like a dream job to me! If you’re looking to get a company off the ground or join a startup, he might just be the guy to talk to.
As I’ve mentioned, I’ll be in Palo Alto this weekend and spending a little time in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday.
2 replies on “10 tips for meeting people at industry events”
Randy, I saw a rather amusing post about networking etiquette 101 at http://alexmclain.blogspot.com/2007/02/networking-etiquette-101.html within a few days of seeing your post and Andrew’s. He talks about picking out the “losers vs. the players” which is pretty funny, based on how they dress. (Certainly made me think about how I dress!)
Awesome… that is a great post. Thanks!