So you are new to the startup world, well here are some tips for networking with the startup community. This presentation was given at Seattle 2.0's StartupDay, 2009.

1. Social Networking and Partnering Shelly D. Farnham, Ph.D. Social Media R & D Consultant / Founder Waggle Labs / Pathable StartupDay 2009

3. Waggle Labs: Social Media R&D Consulting and Incubation Pathable Swaggle (group text messaging) Zillow community Trusera CoCollage (Strands) Facebook analysis Social Web 2.0 Reality AllStarz Teen Focus Group (MSR) City of Seattle Twitterdinks

4. Pathable Social networking and community tools for conferences In limited time available at events, optimize opportunities to meet the *right* people

5. So You Want to Be a Startup Core problem: How do I go from being a person with a specialized skill in a large company to a successful startup person? You don’t….not alone

6. At Minimum, You’ll Probably Need: person who makes it person who turns it into a business

7. How Do You Get From Here to There?

9. Correlated with finding jobs, promotions, salary

10. Important for finding partners, investors, customers Social capital: level of access to resources through people

12. Powerfully increase social capital through simple act of joining community

14. #1: Be Authentic

15. #2: Know What You are Looking For A partner? What skills required for successful business? What don’t you have? Be honest! Customers? Investors? Colleagues with good advice?

16. #3: Seek Diversity

17. #4: Hang Out (in Bars) Informal, serendipitous conversation

18. #5: Give Away Ideas and Knowledge Freely The Love Cat Way Be a Love Cat!!

19. #6: Participate in Related Projects Volunteer for events, hacker spaces, seven hour startup Find people you enjoy working with

20. #7: Play Nice Reputation spreads like wild-fire

21. #8: Sign up for Email Lists, Blogs, Groups Seattle Tech Startup Seattle 2.0, TechFlash NWEN

23. Tip #9: Go to Events Face to face matters developing trust informal idea and knowledge sharing via conversation Events for people like you Social support, community of practice StartupDay, nPost, Seattle Mind Camp, BarCamp Seattle, Ignite Events for your clients and customers Give talks to increase exposure

24. Tips for Partnering Ok, so you think you might have found someone…

25. Interview Do they have a history of success? Are they committed for the long haul? Trust your instincts, and if you don’t, have them meet your mom #1: Be Selective

26. #2: Practice Working Together Work together on low-commitment project first Good “Flow”? Trust and Respect?

27. #3: Treat Your Partnership like a Professional, *Legal*, Relationship Some successful businesses with friends or couples as partners BUT, all the more reason to treat it legally Hire a lawyer Include clear dissolution strategy in your legalese

28. #4: Assign Roles Assign roles, and give ownership Don’t get in their way Clarify who’s “the boss”, who gets final say

29. #5: Communicate Communication is critical, but not just business communication Ensure you and your partner are aware of your burn out potential, risk tolerance, enthusiasm

30. In Sum Networking matters It’s fun! Developing a good partnership, is much like developing a serious relationship