Building your own company is exciting but making it successful can be harder than expected. It needs a lot of hard work, faith in yourself and in your team, a mind-blowing vision as well as sufficient funding. Another key component to leading your startup to success is publicity and the corresponding resonance. This makes it all the more important to become part of the scene or community. It can be very helpful to have a mutual exchange with likeminded people and find inspiration and new alliances. That sounds easier than it is because socializing also needs to be learned. For this, there are different formats that bring together different characters.
Where do I meet fellow founders?
Localities
If you want to meet founders in a relaxed environment and get to know them better, cafés, bars or restaurants are the right places. There are various locations in the centers of the start-up scene. You can find the hot places all over the world where founder hearts are beating. Of course, we think about the media harbour in Düsseldorf straight away, or the beautiful old town. Here, people talk less about their own company than about the big ideas to change the world.
Regulars‘ Table
They help to find easy access to the already existing community that meets regularly and knows the local scene. Just like when you enter a new circle of friends, the fresh founder often feels a little strange at the beginning. If you get involved and show openness here, you can quickly make contact and profit from the new contacts and their expertise.
A good way to find a Regulars’ Table would be to look for local groups on Social Media like Facebook or LinkedIn. Your local startup network could also be helpful in finding this community. Did you know that the Silversky Universe is also hosting its own regulars’ table for Executives and Entrepreneurs of the life sciences industry? Have a look – at www.silversky-ls.com
Meetups
Meetup Groups have become very fashionable, with a large following in the meantime. Meetings on specific topics are announced online in advance to find people with common interests who want to connect. The primary goal is an efficient exchange with likeminded people. You can sign up for meetups in a relaxed setting as well as participate in workshops or other formats – there’s something for everybody.
Coworking Spaces and Makerspaces/Fablabs
Coworking Spaces and Makerspaces/FabLabs are suitable for combining work and pleasure. These special places are available to all creative minds to meet likeminded people and lateral thinkers. While working on their own projects, interdisciplinary exchange takes place here. In Spaces and Labs you can not only get helpful tips for your own cause, but also new inspiration, make new contacts and new friends. The informal project-related way of networking is often easier for many founders because socializing takes place on the side. Plus, it’s easier to start a conversation when you’re sharing a workspace – just ask about their work and everything else will fall into place.
Fairs and (Partnering) Conferences
If you are a startup looking for an investor, conferences and fairs are particularly suitable as the first port of call for meeting many different business angels and venture capital investors in a short time. The goals are contacts and financial support, the way to get here is your pitch. Particularly helpful is the immediate honest feedback on one’s own vision, which can positively orient one’s future path. Partnering conferences with a specific focus such as the DxPx Conference, where experts of the Diagnostics, Digital Health, Precision Medicine and Life Science Tools industry meet, are on the rise and make your partnering and networking efforts extremely efficient. Therefore, 42PLUS1 is hosting its big finale at the DxPx Conference, November 16th, in Dusseldorf, Germany, ensuring you the best exposure to industry experts and investors. Ideas meet the willingness to invest, be it knowledge or capital.
The listed formats are the most established among many other options for startups to get connected. While everyone involved knows what they are getting into, a strong network is founded on giving and taking. Sharing ideas and visions without competition is the capital that founders invest.