The Virtual Coffee Networking Strategy

Are you taking your networking to the next level, by making connections without leaving your home?

We’re not talking about a phone call, although a very productive Skype, Facetime or old-fashioned telephone call can be an outcome of your successful at-home networking strategy.

To kick things off, let us know when was the last time you had a conversation with someone on Twitter? Many of you are saying: “Never”, right?

The truth is, we spend hundreds of hours a year at meetups and other networking events and completely ignore one of the most powerful networking mediums: social media.

Yes, social media can be confusing, but it is powerful. With social media a person can be anywhere at any time, quite literally. You can strike a conversation with anyone anytime, and many times get an appreciative response.

And, don’t think we’re advocating that you completely stop going to networking events. Rather, think about social media as a logical extension of everything you do.

If you are among those who said never to social media networking because it seemed so time-intensive, try this:  set aside 15 minutes tomorrow. As you grab your first cup of beverage of your choice, head to Twitter and try to connect with one of the following segments of the social community:

Connect with your customers:

In addition to gaining amazing customer insight and validating your ideas on social media, you can start building a tribe of loyal fans for your product. After all, people love to be personally involved and there is no more personal medium than social media.

If you are unsure where to start, go to Hootsuite and create a stream with the keywords your customers would be using. Create a “stream” using these keywords. Spend a few minutes liking and replying to some of the tweets you see related to your topics.

Following some of the Twitter users and asking them a direct question is also a tactic that works great in gauging how “sticky” your idea is. One of the best ways to find followers is by looking at some of the top leaders in your industry and identifying who follows them… Which brings us to the next step….

Connect with thought leaders:

Thought leaders command attention of your customers on social media. A mere comment on your Tweet may be perceived as an endorsement of your product. Better yet, if you build initial connection with the thought leaders (investors, potential mentors, partners, etc), you can make it easier for you to approach them later with an ask.

Google “top 10 influencers in x industry” (insert your industry). Find their Twitter handle and add them to a Twitter list. Add the list to Hootsuite and reply or retweet some of the comments and conversations.  If you actually click on the link, read their latest content, and respond.

Bonus tip: find out which events and conferences they are attending. Pay attention to the hashtags used for these conferences and retweet/like a few tweets with one of the hashtags.

Connect with journalists

Everyone in the startup world is seeking reporters’ attention, but only a few are successful. Network digitally first: journalists have no time for crackers and cheese!

Use Muckrack to find trending journalist coverage and commentary. Once you have a list of reporters in mind, you can start building relationship with them: Remember, you’ll connect with them and their readers.  How to do this?  NOT by showing up and asking for coverage (you know your parents raised you to be more polite than that).  Be helpful:  share their stories on social, comment on their stories (both on the blog and social media), suggest sources and stories that are not about you – be a helper first. 

Once you get to know them, deliver value: include them on the Twitter that offer insight research, opinion on trending topics or prediction on future trends.  When you are ready to move to the next step (better done in email!), be ready with images, research and quotes. 

Just think, over a cup of coffee, you, your computer and social accounts can make connections that are insightful, interesting, and possibly a conduit to a valuable business, partner or media coverage opportunity.

PS:  For your first social task, how about connecting with the writers of this article?  @Tredigital and @Pam_A.  Let’s hashtag this as a #GreatPlaceToStart.

How to Vet an Executive Coach and Get Best Outcomes

Written by Janis Machala, Managing Partner, Paladin Partners, janism@paladinpartners.com

As I was researching for this Part II piece on executive coaching [read part I], I ran across a few charts from Harvard Business Review blogs on executive coaching. The first is a chart on what’s most important to clients who’ve worked with executive coach(es). The second is a great visual on the difference between consulting, coaching, and therapy.

In selecting a coach consider the following:

Evaluate their certifications and relevant experience. The International Coaching Federation is an excellent certification body although not all coaches have or need the ICF credential. I recommend hiring a coach who has been at the same level as you. It also helps if they understand your industry. If the coach hasn't walked in the same-size shoes, they likely won't understand the pressure you face or the types of decisions you need to make.

When you interview coaches beware of vague descriptions of skills. When you hear descriptions like "sounding board" and "talking through things," they don't tell you what the coach can do for you. Ask specifics about what you can expect and if the coach can't provide them, consider that a red flag.

An experienced coach will describe the process and what you can expect from your time together. Ask about typical lengths of engagement and how success is measured. Your coach should be willing to discuss a game plan with you and give you some detail about how you'll set and achieve goals together. Ask about how the coach has made a difference in his or her clients' professional lives and ask for a few references. Be concerned if none are available.

Beyond the credentials, skills and track record, it's important to have chemistry. Consider your gut reaction to the coach. You don't have to be best friends, but there should be a decent amount of chemistry between you. effective as it could be. What this means for you is that before you hire a coach, you should ask him how he handles dependency in relationships.

Formal coaching relationships are based on written agreements between the coach and the individual being coached. This written agreement delineates the goals and mutual expectations for how the coaching relationship will work.

Excellent coaches had never stopped developing themselves. They constantly look for new things that they could engage in to enable them to coach even more effectively. They work with a wide variety of ideas, theories and models that are appropriate to particular individuals.


R.O.C. (Return on Coaching) – Over time, if the results are not exceeding the predictable results or aren’t feeling like a good investment, the relationship ceases to be effective. A common timeframe for initial executive coaching is 6 months, with a second scope of work possibly continuing for an additional 6-12 months. If you’re too comfortable with your coach you may be using them for the wrong type of work. Coaches should be growing, pushing, stretching your abilities. I recommend a mid-point assessment and a final assessment (close of the relationship).

Should you consider an executive coach?

I admit it; I was a psychology major. This may mean I overvalue soft skills over technical skills in entrepreneurs. However, I don't think that the explosion in executive coaching (10,000 and counting) is a blip but a necessity in today's complex always on world. Executive coaching isn’t new. It's used by corporate executives to up their game just like an elite athlete does. However, executive coaching isn’t commonplace among start-up founders. That's changing rapidly in Silicon Valley where it's become cache to have a coach.  Domain competence isn't sufficient for success as a start-up leader. It takes leadership skills, emotional intelligence, listening skills, etc. Oh, and women tend to have these soft skills much more naturally than their male counterparts!

What I hear when I recommend executive coaching to entrepreneurs seeking advice: "I leverage my investors for that," "my board members provide this," or "I have an advisory board." If you're an investor, it's in your interest to encourage executive coaching for your portfolio companies, especially those who are first time in their senior executive role. Start-up founders who don't come out of the corporate environment learn by doing, but time is not on their side.

If you're an entrepreneur, do you use a personal trainer? How about a financial planner? Then you want to be the best at some important outcome. Someone who's only there to optimize you and your executive needs is a special relationship worth investing in since your company is likely the biggest investment you will make in your life. Stack the deck in your favor; hire someone who will optimize you. A start-up coach is part strategic business adviser, psychologist, headlights for the future, and leadership trainer.

A well-known Silicon Valley coach (Anamaria Nino-Murcia, Startup Coach & Founder, Foothold Coaching) polled clients to ask what value they receive in Coaching. These reasons resonate with me as I've seen these perspectives with my own coaching clients.

#1: Accelerate Your Personal Growth
“Your ability to personally grow faster than you could ever be comfortable with is the single biggest determinant of whether you will survive and succeed.” – Ben Knelman, Founder & CEO of Juntos Finanzas

The founders who succeed over time are the ones who learn the fastest—not just about product-market fit—but also about themselves.

#2: Get Emotional Support
 “It’s lonely at the top, and it’s nice to not only turn to board members, investors, friends or a spouse.” – Julia Hu, Founder-CEO of lark

Founders often confront emotional challenges they don’t or can't share with teammates, investors, advisors or even trusted friends and family. A coach creates a safe space to talk through struggles.

Ben Horowitz of a16z publicly states, “By far the most difficult skill for me to learn as CEO was the ability to manage my own psychology.” And who helped him develop that skill? Bill Campbell, the legendary CEO coach to many of Silicon Valley’s most successful leaders.

#3: Have an Unbiased Sounding Board
 “You need space outside of your team and investors to work through important decisions.” – Colin Mutchler, founder-CEO of louder

 “Everyone else in your life has some personal or professional bias—having a coach is the only unbiased sounding board you can have.” – Romain David, Co-Founder of Meexo (acquired by Live Nation)

Founders make myriad of decisions every day under massive uncertainty. To navigate this ambiguity, entrepreneurs tap their advisory network of friends, mentors and investors. The best advisers offer shortcuts based on their knowledge and experience. A good coach is an active listener, a pattern-spotter, and someone who helps you decide, quickly and thoughtfully, what you want to do. Coaches take on your agenda as their own—without role bias.

 #4: Anticipate Later-Stage Challenges
“In the early days, you’re so busy sprinting to put out fires that you might not take the time to stop and think about the long-term impact of your choices. And yet, even the smallest decisions made early on can significantly change your company’s trajectory. Working with a coach helps me realize which decisions made now might have ramifications a year or two down the road.” – Maria Wich-Vila, early-stage entrepreneur

Next month: how to find and hire the best coach for you and how to get the most out of a coaching relationship.

Here are some great perspectives on start-up executive coaching:
The Startup Shrink Will See You Now
Put Me In, Coach
The CEO Of A Billion-Dollar Startup Uses A Simple System To Nail Work-Life Balance Every Week
CEOs Want But Don’t Receive Executive Coaching

Janis Machala, Managing Partner - Paladin Partners LLC
janism@paladinpartners.com

Angel Profiles: Geoff Harris

What attracted you to exploring angel investing?
I spent 15 years at a big company and I knew I wanted to try something different. I plan to do my own startup at some point and so I figured I’d find out what life was like on the other side of the table as an investor first. In addition I believe strongly that there need to be more angels in Seattle who have benefited from working at one of the successful local companies who choose to give back to the startup ecosystem and make this a healthy place to start a company.

If you’re still angel investing, where do you find most of the companies?
I am a member of two angel groups – Seattle Angel Conference and Alliance of Angels. I find my deal flow split evenly between those two groups and referrals from friends and associates

What are the top three things you look for in companies where you invest?
I look for an opportunity that can be big. Given the multiples that one needs to achieve on the successful companies in your portfolio, I’m not interested in something that can be a nice business if will never be big enough to achieve a successful exit. Then I look at the team. As many angels investors would tell you, the team is (almost) everything. I’ll take a great team over a great idea every time. Finally, I look for any evidence of customer traction. Even if it is early I look for any evidence that this team’s solution is resonating with potential customers.

How did you incorporate angel investing into your overall portfolio?
I take what I think is a relatively typical portfolio approach, treating my angel investments as their own asset class and allocating anywhere from 5-10% of my portfolio to this class at any one time. Interestingly I spend a completely disproportionate amount of my time on this 5-10% of my portfolio. This is of course one of the joys of angel investing – the ability to have direct involvement and impact in your portfolio companies.

What have you learned since you started angel investing?
I’ve learned that I have much, much more to learn. One of the exciting aspects of angel investing is that even after being fairly active in it for 3+ years, every time I engage I learn something new.

What do you wish you would have known before you started angel investing?
I wish I had understood the cold hard math facts a little better. I would likely have had a little more rigor on early stage valuation if I had.

What space are you most interested to invest in next?
I don’t have a particular industry bias but I feel most comfortable investing in the software IT space

What resources should entrepreneurs and angels use to learn more?
There is no lack of great educational forums put on by all the angel groups in town. If one wanted to, one could go to an angel event just about any night of the week. Geekwire maintains a good listing of these events as does StartupSeattle.com. If I could recommend one book that all angels and entrepreneurs should read it would be Early Exits by Basil Peters.

In 1998 a group of 12 women...

...met at Laird Norton (thanks to its CEO, Debbie Bevier) because we each wanted to have access to the same deal flow that male angels enjoyed but with added goals over an above great returns on our risk capital. Sue Preston, the Managing Partner of the Seattle Angel Fund, was one of those 12 women as was I. Indeed, we wanted more than just good deals!  We wanted to also encourage and support women entrepreneurs, grow the pool of women angels in our region, and increase the number of women board members.

Sadly, Seraph Capital Forum recently reached the end of its lifespan. Why did this group, the first women only angel group in the country, lose its mojo? I believe it’s because we were an all volunteer organization. We could not do all that was needed to drive an angel organization that continually needed to add members, secure deal flow, tout our statistics, and be the executives/wives/mothers/school volunteers/etc. that we also are. Simply put, the members reached burn out trying to do it all. I hope they appear at the Seattle Angel Conference, become members in other angel groups, take on more board roles, encourage more women to be active investors, and mentor more women founders.

It’s awesome to see women today who have BIG IDEAS and expect to receive the same large funds for their companies as their male peers. Sheryl Sandberg’s book, LeanIn, has had great impact I believe. Women were exhorted to expect more from our significant others and to be authentic about who we are rather than to try and be more like men. I recently was speaking with a women founder and her comment to me says a lot: “I’ve learned to outsource most of my wifely duties so I can focus on what my company needs, I can’t do it all nor do I want or need to, that’s a myth.” It doesn’t mean she is a bad mother or a bad wife, it means she is focused on what is important to her family and her company.

My goal with this column is to create a conversation about the growing force of women from STEM career initiatives targeted at growing diversity in tech, to highlighting the capital efficiency of women founded companies as well as the superior returns of these companies to their investors, and creating awareness of how men and women entrepreneurs differ that leads to embracing the differences so you can increase your returns by investing in good deals. I hope there are more Jonathan Sposato types who invest in diverse teams because he knows they will make better decisions by their diversity of thought and perspective. Some great readings on these topics are listed below.

ROI of Women
Women Entrepreneurs: Bridging The Gender Gap In Venture Capital
How Are Female Entrepreneurs Different From Male?
10 Reasons Why Women Make Better Entrepreneurs
Access to Capital for Women Entrepreneurs

Janis Machala, Managing Partner - Paladin Partners LLC
janism@paladinpartners.com

Originally published in the Seattle Angel monthly newsletter, to get great articles like this early, sign up now.