Found My Tribe
My last post was about why it’s great to meet people different than you. This one’s about spending time with people similar. Both important.
USA Bound… FounderCon?
I’m heading to the US (Bay Area) in October for a friend’s wedding. When I read that Techstars FounderCon was on in Oakland a couple of weeks later, it was a no brainer that I extend my trip, and stay around for it. I wanted to explore why that was such an easy decision for me.
Extending a trip for a tech conference is not something I would normally do. I’ve been to a few tech conferences over the years, but only two ever where I felt like I actually got something out of it (one was another FounderCon in Berlin just recently).
At FounderCon you have 2 full days of meeting investors and corporates 1 on 1. I’m of course looking for funding and to meet companies we might be able to work with. But that isn’t the best part in my opinion.
Background — ‘So, What Do You Do?’
A lot of people, even some of my closest friends and family, still don’t really know what I do.
Which is understandable. I don’t have what’s considered a ‘normal’ job: ‘Founder & CEO of Party with a Local’ sounds made up (which it literally is — I just made it up and started doing it 👍😄). It’s not something you can easily categorize, or already know something about, like a doctor, lawyer or accountant.
I’ve never really had normal, or easy to describe, jobs. e.g. I was a Cartographer at Lonely Planet for 5 years (also studied Cartography at University for 4 years). To that I’d get responses like ‘Oh… but isn’t every map already made?’, ‘So, do you draw maps by hand then?’ or a personal favourite ‘Ah, that’s awesome man! Taking photos of cars, right?’ 😂
Earlier in life I did actually have some easy to describe jobs, but they were just so damn shitty, I avoided talking about them at all costs. 😩😂
These days I love what I do, enjoy talking about it, have gotten pretty good at pitching it, and most people are genuinely interested / curious. But they don’t really have much idea about what it entails or what I do day-to-day. So confusion about (what the hell!) I do remains, just the responses are different now: ‘Is it like Tinder?’, ‘How do you make money?’ (fair question), ‘Geez, you must get tired from all that partying!’
I totally get it, and I can answer these sort of questions, but sometimes it’s nice to get past all that, and talk about the really interesting or challenging parts of what I’m doing.
I won’t go into those in this post, but just FYI — I’m not out partying every night of the week (anymore, cc Mum). 🙅🏻🤘
In The Same Boat 🚣
That’s why it’s refreshing to meet a bunch of other people in the same sort of situation as me. I’m talking about other startup founders, and more specifically, other Techstars startup founders.
Other people who are starting ‘weird’ companies like me (everything is weird at first, until it’s not) and going through very similar things — fundraising, partnerships, (lack of) work life balance etc. With Techstars founders you quickly get past WHAT you do, and conversations take much more interesting turns, like ‘That’s really cool! Have you talked to X investor, or Y brand, yet?’
This is the famous Techstars #Givefirst mentality in action — helping others with time, feedback and introductions, without expecting anything in return.
I had a 5 minute conversation with someone I’d just met at FounderCon in Berlin and the next thing she was sending an email introducing me to the biggest brand agency in the world. Boom! Where else can you find those sort of serendipitous connections that fast and at scale? That’s a big reason why I want to go to FounderCon again.
But it’s more than just #Givefirst. Here’s a few other things about Techstars people (not only founders, but also their teams & the people working for Techstars) which I’ve noticed. Things that make me believe I’ve found other people like me.
(I’ve witnessed these things going through Techstars Connection in New York, and again at FounderCon in Berlin, and also virtually through personal emails, Blog posts and on Twitter):
Doers
I’ve always been someone who prefers doing over talking (except right now, although writing is sort of doing and talking at the same time, right? 😄). And I like spending time with other people who are doers. Life is short — just fricken do it! And spend time with people who just do it too.
Techstars people get shit done. During our Techstars program I’d often start early, or stay late, at the office. Invariably there would always be someone from another team already there or staying after I left. On weekends too. Great progress was made by all the teams over the course of the program.
I met another founder at FounderCon in Berlin, who in between meetings with investors, was frantically working on his laptop. I was trying to catch up on things too. We exchanged a brief friendly chat where he informed me he was getting multiple inbound orders from customers and was personally handling them all. Go! Go! 🏃
Driven By A Bigger Purpose
Everyone I’ve met at Techstars isn’t doing what they are doing for the sake of fame or fortune. Sure, the end result might be a bucket load of money (in some rare cases), but that’s not what’s driving them. People are driven by a bigger purpose. They’ve experienced a problem in the world that they believe they can fix and as a result make the world a better place.
Almost everyone I’ve met at Techstars has had a deeply personal story as to why they started their company. It really means something to them that it works and they are obsessed (in a good way).
It’s cool being around other people who are so driven and who are trying to change the world (and not just in a rat race to make money).
No Arseholes
I’ve found that there’s a distinct lack of arseholes at Techstars. Go to any other tech event, conference or co-working space and there’s always some (sometimes many) arseholes: people who talk too much (see above), talk themselves up, exaggerate their achievements without much substance (or just plain make shit up), act superior, rude, overly bro’y, or in some other way, are just not people it’s nice to spend much time with.
I’m sure there are some arseholes amongst the 1000s of Techstars people around the world, but I haven’t met any. (It’s good to note that there’s some very successful arsehole founders out in the world). I haven’t seen them at Techstars though.
I remember thinking a few times during our Techstars program and again in conversations at Berlin FounderCon - ‘there’s literally no one here that I don’t like’.
It’s true. Everyone is working hard and doing really interesting, sometimes world changing, stuff. Some have raised 10s of millions in funding or already run highly profitable startups. Yet no one talks up their achievements. People can relate no matter what stage you are at with their startups. Everyone is very humble.
You can be a bit awkward socially (I am sometimes, especially when meeting people for the first time) but it doesn’t matter. Any awkwardness dissipates after the first few moments of a conversation when you realise these people are kind of like you. Everyone is easy to talk to. And no one seems to judge.
Fun (& Enjoy a Drink)
Techstars was a very intense experience — countless meetings, workshops, guest speakers and pitch practice. During ‘mentor madness’ one day we worked out we’d had 11 meetings by 2pm. Not to mention the lofty goals you set yourself and the team. It’s pretty full on.
But people at Techstars also know to embrace it and even to enjoy the wild ride. They also let their hair down and have fun sometimes.
And enjoy a drink — I might be a little skewed in my view here, seeing as our Techstars program was in partnership with AB InBev and all the startups in some way were related to alcohol. And we had an fridge full of craft beer, and 4 beers on tap, RIGHT IN THE OFFICE! 🍻
But also at FounderCon in Berlin, I met a bunch of super fun and easy to talk to people during Happy Hours. I ended up having an epic night out in Berlin with other founders I’d just met that day — one from the US, one from Finland. We got into a notoriously hard to get into Berlin Club and partied til the wee hours. It was like partying with friends I’d known for years. It was fun!
Don’t Care About What They Wear
I say this in the nicest possible way (and not about all Techstars people — my own team are way more stylish than me). But in general, amongst all the things people seem to find important, I don’t see fashion as a very high on many Techstars peoples’ lists. I think that’s a good thing.
At some startup talks I’ve been to in Amsterdam, where my team and I are based, there’s often quite a few people wearing suits, or otherwise looking sharp / fashionable. I sometimes wonder if I’m even at the right event. I definitely look out of place.
I’ve been wearing the same clothes for years — jeans, black T-shirts & free T-shirts promoting other startups, that were handed out at tech events, and of course a (Techstars) hoodie! (ooh, I like how that link looks like it’s in Techstars green 🤗)
Hanging out with other people who are wearing ‘normal’ clothes, adds to my feeling of being comfortable around them. In Techstars I feel like I’ve found ‘my tribe’. 🙌
*Update 7th Sep: Just remembered why I called it ‘my tribe’ — I phoned my parents after being in Berlin for FounderCon, told my Dad that I enjoyed it, and liked everyone I met there. To which he replied ‘You found your tribe’. 😊
So, other Techstars people — see you at FounderCon in Oakland?
If you are going to FounderCon & want to meet up there (or before), shoot me at email: dan (at) partywithalocal.com
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