I attended Startup Lunch Delhi 2 today as a candidate, not as a startup. The event is mainly about connecting startups and people who want to work for startups.
In a word, the experience there was simply wow. I met numerous startups and their founders who shared information about what their company is really about and what kind of candidates they were looking for. Following are some of the points I noted:
- 95% if the startups were technology startups, with exceptions being Zice and iDiscovery. Is it because of a bias that only technology companies are aware of this event or is it because there aren’t really many non-tech startups in the first place?
- More than 5 startups talked about changing the world, which of course is good.
- Interacting with so many startups, a candidate can really get spoilt for choice. Any thumb rule on what to do when one gets so many options to choose from?
- One more thing I noticed is that interacting with startups increases the fire in your belly. I really began to think: if they can, why can’t I. Next time, I promise that I will be there as a startup, not as a candidate.
- There is such a thing as free lunch after all!
An idea of an event struck me there. If startups can meet potential candidates in an event, why can’t people find co-founders for their startups in a similar event. In this event, people would exhibit their ideas and find the right people and mentors to kick-start their startup. Avinash expressed his concern that people might not be willing to reveal their ideas at the concept stage. But I think such an event would be a tremendous opportunity to get feedback, find co-founders, mentors and heck (who knows) even customers. How do you find the idea of this event? Any takers?
Paras,
First of all, I’m glad that you made it to the event and found it useful.
The issue with finding co-founders, mentors and all slightly becomes a tricky game. Let me give you a parallel. People meet each other all the time on the streets, in the malls, in libraries etc and everyone is at one point or other looking for something – a relationship, a friend, an activity partner etc. But how many of us actually find any of those “just on the street” ?
The reason is partly cause intentions are unknown and we are scared of finding those intentions out.
The deal with Startup Lunch, precisely like speed dating is to lay forth the intentions – Hey I am here for either hiring, or to get hired, and things become so much simpler. The minute you say co-founders, etc etc, there is going to be a crowd, and soon it will be a barcamp all over and nobody would know who is there for what, and fear asking someone because of the uncertaintly and it will all go back to life in the street again.
Focused events = more productivity. That’s the mantra 🙂 Afterall when you are running a startup, time matters a lot. You dont have a whole lot of that.
Hmm.. Yes, that’s true. I agree with you that such an event cannot be made possible in an organized manner.
Now, I realize that my idea of event is actually quite focussed. It is not just about finding co-founders, mentors, etc. It is about demoing your idea to people. Usually, startups demo their products. Similarly, people can demo their startup ideas in an unconference manner. This could be just another way to connect potential entrepreneurs, I guess.
Another problem with finding potential partners at such fairs is that when people look for founding team,they look for “trust”.Cliche’ as it may sound,cornerstone of any relationship(and its long term in case of startups) is trust.You tend to trust people who you know for atleast sometime or you know people who know them well.You know how the person thinks what he is good at and what hes not-so-good at,which is not possible at such a fair.There the candidate is the sole speaker on his behalf and you have no choice but to believe him.This thing however works for in case of employees,because there you can “try before you buy”,”you can date before you marry”(as I read on a forum)….which is not possible in case of a founding team.
Moreover I’d like to make another point here,to think of it,a “focussed” fair involving young fresh startups showcasing their products in a particular domain can be an amazing place to find customers and potential business partners or for mergers and stuff.