Before moving to RTP, I was in Phoenix for a good long stretch. The company I worked for had ~100 employees, was a sexy business and paid pretty well compared to the state’s average salaries. We were acquired in 2001 for a healthy sum. I was involved in a variety of business-like activities outside of work, such as public speaking and working with a local college to develop a curriculum.
Despite all this, my business network in Phoenix sucks.
I moved to RTP in mid October, 2006. By December, my RTP network was larger and more useful than my Phoenix one ever was.
That is the thing that I love the most about the area. If you’re competent and willing to put forth a little effort, people are willing to help.
So how did I get plugged in so quickly? Here’s a summary…
1. On my pre-move visit, I connected with the Technology Transfer office at UNC. (I tried to contact Duke and NC State, but neither chose to respond). I explained that I was an experienced entrepreneur thinking about relocating to RTP either to start something or join something early stage. The person at UNC introduced me via email to two local VC’s. I met with one in person and the other by phone. The former continues to be particularly helpful — you know who you are and THANK YOU!
2. After a bit of digging, I found the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and the NC Biotech Center. Folks at both places were happy to meet with me. Since I ended up back in software, I didn’t do much work with the Biotech guys, but what I saw, I liked.
CED is the 800 pound gorilla of networking and information for RTP. Normally, I would treat any group with the word "council" and "entrepreneur" in the title much the same as I would treat an opportunity to personally experience the Ebola virus. But the CED are a fantastic resource.
You get out what you put in. So you’ll still need to get off your butt and take some initiative, but this is the place to start.
CED hosts lunch events, regional events, a venture conference and more learning and connection opportunities than you can shake a stick at. They also offer some great programs like FastTrac and STREAK. The former is a 10 week class that aims to educate you on how to turn an idea into a business. Streak is a professional smack down session. Go in, pitch your business to a team of smart and relevant folks (CEOs, bankers, VCs etc) and get fantastically brutal feedback (but Steve, we love you for it).
We participated in Streak earlier in the year and it lead to (a) a much better pitch and plan, (b) a real product and (c) a fantastic advisory board member.
You will notice that some of the same names come up repeatedly. Don’t let this be a concern — the core of the entrepreneurial community here is relatively small and people are generous with their time. It is absolutely NOT an "old boys club" as I wondered before getting here…
Membership is cheap. Most events you can attend even if you aren’t a member. The CED even lists non-CED events on their website calendar. Spend time here and get to know these folks — you won’t regret it. I have yet to attend a single CED event that did not lead to at least one useful reference, introduction or piece of knowledge.
3. Through various events (CED and non-CED) I met our attorney and our accounting firm, both of whom have made numerous introductions for me. Again, great people who are willing to help. If you can believe it, I even had a joint lunch with both of them to discuss the business, and it cost me nothing!
4. I dug in to some of the research being done at local Universities. The most useful person I met through that was Fred Stutzman, (aka Mr BarCampRDU). Fred scores bonus points for introducing me to Peppers Pizza in Chapel Hill.
5. After I got here and got settled, I looked around to see who I should meet that I hadn’t met with yet, and figured out a way to make it happen. Silicon Valley Bank and Square 1 Bank are two examples (and I’ve discussed Square 1’s herculean efforts on our behalf before).
6. I attended a local "small business" meetup group. Utter waste of time — the group was far too broad and we spent the whole evening misunderstanding each other because our businesses were so different. I think some of the more focused groups (like the Ruby Brigade, if you’re a Rails programmer) may be better.
7. I found the TAFU Networking Group. The acronym stands for "To Avoid Future Unemployment". These folks meet on the first and third Thursday of the month, 7:30am at the Panera Bread near Brier Creek in north Raleigh (go to Panera’s Website and punch in zip code 27617 to find it). This is an informal networking group of the employed and the unemployed. You show up, introduce yourself and see who you can help or who can help you (or both). There’s a range of folks there from a variety of industries. The Yahoo group is much bigger than the meeting attendance would imply, but you can only join that after you’ve been to a meeting.
To put the value of this group in perspective: I met Logan, our CTO, through a fellow TAFU member.
8. I was invited to present a local VC’s round-table event, pitching the Monkey to a room full of RTP Heroes. These are big local names with considerable successes (yes, more than one) behind them. Scary stuff. And frankly, the pitch had huge holes in it and we were a bit of a lead balloon. But even that resulted in a relationship with a great contact at Cisco. We grab lunch every so often and it’s something I always look forward to.
And that’s it. It’s not magic, and it does take some work. But RTP has been the easiest place to network that I’ve ever experienced.
More on relocating here when I think of it.
Categories: Relocating to RTP
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