Adrie's Blog

Ego-centric or Focused?

Yesterday I attended a great network event organised by E.Factor - well over 100 entrepreneurs getting together on a snowy Friday evening at a top location in Amsterdam. When I try and view an event like this with the eyes of the outsider, I wonder what makes all these entrepreneurs visit such an event in such numbers on a Friday night? At the end of the evening the answer was clear, as one after the other attendee told me how great the contacts were they had made during the course of the event. And that's what it is all about.

Just like top athletes (and I know Bill Evans won't agree with me on this) real entrepreneurs are strongly focused on building their companies to the point of putting everything else aside to achieve their goas. The outsider often therefore finds the entrepreneur, and the athlete, rather self-centred and to a certain point, they are right since you can only succeed in either activity if you give more then 100% - meaning in this case, more then 12 hours a day.

The problem I see at a lot of network events therefore, is that they are often not set up with the entrepreneur in mind - the man or woman who truly has no time left in their day but turns up in the hope to do business for their companies, which makes it worthwhile the time spent. If you then do no more then hang at a bar, talking chit-chat and just there to see and be seen - an entrepreneur would be disappointed. He/she really wants focus, relevant people, relevant topics, something he/she can learn from or where they can meet new, useful and relevant contacts. Often it is the most experienced entrepreneurs that provide the best draw particularly if they are not shy about sharing their failures as well as their successes. Beside the content, it is often also about not feeling along, feeling that you are part of a bigger group and that you all make the same mistakes from time to time.

The problem I have with most social networks, is that they mostly provide you with connections to people you already knew - just in a different way then before. It does not provide you with a new, relevant and valuable network. Secondly - it IS important to meet people face-to-face and get a feel for the chemistry that you may have. In a "social" network there is no space for that, no way to get that feeling since there is no personal connection.

A good network gathering or event has the following characteristics:

Content - a good speaker talking about a new topic, or an (serial) entrepreneur willing to share his/her experiences;
A good mix of participants, entrepreneurs, customers/suppliers and/or investors;
A good Q&A - preferably led by a solid moderator to stimulate debate;
Enough time to follow up with other participants and "network"

For the event to be successful - it is an absolute must that the entrepreneur goes home with the feeling "That was time well-spent"
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