Thoughts in Time

After the Edelman event, I joined a couple of Edelman employees and clients at a private club called the Hospital.  Not the sort of private club we have in New Haven (a little different from Mory’s or the Q club), it was quite a treat.  I didn’t get to fully explore the place, however it was clearly high class.  6 stories - Great bar, places for food, functions, and I think there were other facilities as well. Definitely will have to learn more about what it takes to be a member and what membership has to offer. Marcus - thanks for having us along!

I’ve worked with Edelman with Higher One, and have great respect for them as a company.  It’s amazing the business the family and management have built.  I have been privileged to know Renee for a while, and finally got to meet Richard at this event in Mayfair.  I only hope that a company I help found will have such long lasting success. Congratulations again!

Today Araz and I got together with Carrot Communications on our messaging outline for the launch of the business. It was an enjoyable session with all of us coming to some key conclusions about how we’ll segment our market and the subtleties of our message.  We’ll be refining the messaging and using it as the backbone as we launch in early 2008.

After a brief stop back in the U.S. for the annual Higher One holiday party and a board meeting, it was back across the pond.  This time of year is terrible for flights.  I do have to say, my first flight on a Boeing 777 was pretty pleasant.  American Airlines has more leg room than Virgin in coach, and although the service wasn’t as good as Virgin’s, it didn’t matter as I was fast asleep for 90% of the flight.  It feels good to be heading over for a 100% work focused trip.

We have an accepted offer on a flat- woo hoo…As long as everything comes together with references, etc we’ll be living in Hampstead, an area in Northern London. We’ll be one block from the Hampstead Heath - a huge 1,000 acre sort of cross between a city park and a natural park area.  I was hoping for 1000 square feet.  We ended up with 860, but it’s well arranged and will meet our needs.  We’ll have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms - ideal for visitors… If you’re planning on coming to see us - let us know when .

Our accomodations that is.. In CT, we’ve been lucky enough to live in a beautiful 3,000 square foot house that I worked with a great architect (Bogue Trandowski) to design after having a fire there Christmas Day 2002 (wow -that was 5 years ago!).

In London we probably won’t have more than 1000 square feet (at the most) - oh yeah, and we’ll be paying 2.5x as much as for our place in CT… It’s even more expensive than NYC. Not ideal for a startup.  Oh yeah… that’s why we’re centering most of our operations (tech, tech ops, and customer service  in sunny Cape Town, South Africa)

Kellee and I talked about this.  How much space does one really need.  We calculated that the space we really use in our house is ~1400 square feet, so maybe we’re not downsizing so much.  Good thing we don’t have kids yet!

When I told people I was looking for a place in London, generally there was a comment or joke relayed about Estate Agents.  Until we really got into looking, I didn’t know why… Wow, I’ve never met so many people who don’t listen.  We would describe what we were looking for, the range we were looking to pay, and the areas we were looking in.  I would get calls from agents suggesting things that clearly didn’t meet what we were looking for, but don’t worry “it’s a brilliant flat, you really should see it”.

There were two or three agents who listened and showed us some stuff we liked.  Ultimately, Annie from the Estate Company did a great job and showed us numerous places that fit the bill - Annie - you rock - thanks for being patient and helping us.

I was thinking more about my first networking event in London and what advice I would share if I was talking to a young entrepreneur in the same situation…(ok -I’m probably still considered young, but you know what I mean), so - here are my top 6 tips for getting the most from a first networking event in a new city or country

1. Just say hi: Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself.  People want to meet you.  People worry about what to say - just say ” Hi, I’m Sean.”  They’ll introduce themselves, and will most likely ask you what brings you to the event or something else that can start the conversation.
2. It’s all about the people you meet -  You know your story.  It’s ok to share, however isn’t it much more interesting to learn about the cool people you’re meeting?  You can learn what the entrepreneurial culture is like in the area. How they got started, what they’re doing.  What brought them to the event, what challenges they’re currently facing etc…
3. Meet the connectors -  In any area, there are people who are super connectors.  In general, the venture lawyers, search executives, and entrepreneurs who are involved in organizing high tech events are the people who will know the local tech scene, the interesting people to meet, angel investors, and more.  This doesn’t mean ignore other folks, however if you do have a chance to meet these people, you’ll be off to a great start in your new location.
4. Be honest about what you’re looking for - Don’t be afraid to share the challenges you face and what you’re looking for.  In my case I was just looking to meet people in a new city and to learn what the tech scene was like. You might be looking for funding, a key employee, or an introduction to potential partner.  Most people want to be helpful, and they can only do so if you’re straightforward about what your challenges are.
5. Be helpful -   Chances are, you know people where you’re coming from who people in your new city might not know.  As you meet people, think about what connections you could make that would be helpful to the.  Offer to make the connection.
6. Follow up -  Don’t just collect business cards.  Write a follow up note.  Meeting people is one thing, working build new relationships takes work.

Moving to a new place can be a daunting experience. Moving to a new country is even more so, particularly when one is doing so as part of a startup. There’s no built-in network of people you know or will work with.  Luckily, I love meeting new people. There are just so many people out there doing so many interesting things.  There’s always something to learn about.  With that in mind, I went to my first tech / networking event in the UK put on by “the Glasshouse” - Second Chance Tuesdays (although the event was on a Monday).

This particular event focused on the future of online gaming (primarily massive multi-player online games and casual gaming) and featured a panel with several industry leaders.  The overall takeaway is that people love playing games with one another, the social layer that is developing will help casual gaming develop further, and there are an increasing number of people playing games online who don’t fit the normal stereotype of “gamers.”

Aside from the panel, the event had lots of time set aside for networking.  I met a number of interesting people who I look forward to getting to know better once I’m in London full time.

I’ve been traveling non stop (London, New Haven, London, New Haven, Virginia…) so although there’s been a lot I’ve written about on the way, I hadn’t had a chance to post it… So I’ll be posting a number of entries from the last 3 weeks. Lots going on as we get closer to our move and as I have been finishing up at Higher One and ramping up with Friendent (now Pikum - more on that in another post). Exciting times. Hope that everyone who reads this is enjoying the holiday season with friends and family and best wishes to all for the new year.