How to date a supermodel (or get dealflow or find cofounders)

Showing up is a necessary but non-sufficient condition. I've known plenty of people who were very good at "showing up", but nobody wanted them there. You'll need some personality and, yes, perhaps a little bit of hard-earned talent (those six pack abs) to complete the picture.

Whenever I read social advice online for startup/tech people, I tend to find that the benefits of networking, etc. are really overhyped (I may be biased by my industry). You aren't going to date a supermodel just sitting outside the Playboy mansion on the street, and you aren't getting in to the Playboy mansion unless you have proved yourself worthy of being in that club. You aren't going to get funding if you have no product or talent. Obviously networking is important, and you should take high-value opportunities, but this article is exaggerating its value/frequency it is needed<p>In my experience, it is so much easier to find like-minded people through online means. I try to imagine how someone could try to find someone like myself in the real world inadvertently. Given my lifestyle (work in private office, don't frequently socialize with startup people), it isn't happening, outside of the occasional major conferences (PyCon) and invite-only events.

Ruben Gamez did a good course on Mixergy.com (premium) called "Networking for Introverts". Although it says it's for introverts it's really just useful as a good example of how to build relationships that works.<p>I spent the better part of my 20s thinking that networking is for losers. You know - you show up to those "networking breakfasts", everyone in their shitty, ill-fitting $120 suits from Lowes drinking orange juice concentrate and desperately trying to sell each other their shitty products (or worse, strike up worthless "strategic partnerships").<p>Then early in 2011 when I was looking to build a better business development strategy rather than the "hit n hope" method of deal flow that I'd been relying on as a freelancer for so many years I went to see a marketing consultant. One of the questions she asked was "so where do you do your networking?". I was like "networking? that's for losers!". She looked at me blanky and proceeded to school me.<p>I've met so many great people since then. There are some fantastic resources on how to build and manage your networks and how to be a valuable member of your community, and how that in turn will build value for your business.<p>If you aren't taking networking and building relationships seriously, you're missing out. No matter what business you're in, you're ultimately in the people business and knowning great people is always going to be an asset.

A slightly tangential point from that article but...<p>I'm in the UK - Derby, specifically, though I've known other areas well too - and I've <i>never</i> seen people working for more than a short period (say, 30 mins max) out of cafés. Never.<p>I can see it may well be good networking advice. I can see it'd be more sociable than my current spare-bedroom-office setup. But I've never seen it done to have any indication it's viable in the local café culture.<p>Serious question. Any UK'ers, midlands in particular, actually <i>do</i> this? Where do you find is actually good for this?

New year's resolution: supermodel cofounder.

I think the most valuable lesson in this post is getting a bit lost. It's so much more than just "networking." It's about being where your targets are, so that you can better understand them.<p>Just being among the people that interest you, to observe and overhear, can be super valuable in itself.

Submitted 83 days ago:<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3093130" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3093130</a>

Except, supermodels don't eat.

I would suggest to just take this advice, work on it, or atleast TRY IT. We are so focused to find excuses that sometimes we succeed at an incredible rate!

Sales. It is all about the numbers.<p>Just watch this classic clip from Glengarry Glen Ross:<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AXTx4PcKI" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AXTx4PcKI</a><p>Pure. Gold.

While it may certainly help to hang out in the right places, there's two reason this won't work out:<p>1) At least where I live (Italy), hanging out with the "right" people just isn't enough. You have to have deeper connections with somebody (for example, they're in some way connected to your family) before you can get some kind of attention from the "right" people.<p>2) The author implies that what you are able to do is just not relevant. While I've found out that is certainly true, I personally think that it's very unhealthy for you as an individual to completely drop all of your skills except for the social skill (which seems to be the only thing that matters, especially when dealing with the "right" people).