Getting STIRR crazy in Palo Alto
The amount of intelligent, driven and innovative people that I am beginning to meet and actually connect with here in Palo Alto is amazing to me. I have called Palo Alto home for nearly a month now (am I a local now?) and I am finally starting to see the very beginnings of my new ‘real world’ or offline social network starting form in front of my eyes. I wanted this to happen over night, but building a truly valuable and meaningful network takes time, effort and a true sincerity of purpose behind the relationships that you’re building. In other words, don’t be a business card exchanging whore for the sake of simply getting your name out there. Take time to get to know the person that you’re giving your card to and hell, even get a little crazy with it and suggest someone they should meet, give them a new angle to pitch their wares or give them a few additions or thoughts on their current offering. I mean, if you’re going to be a business card exchanging whore, at least be a helpful one with a purpose.
People like it when you help them out, I promise.
One of the main reasons why I am now beginning to notice my fresh and new offline social network is that I have been hitting up tech events around Silicon Valley like it’s my job. Oh wait…I think that actually is party of my job and I guess that should be part of everyone’s job, right? Meeting new people, making new contacts and tightening up your pitch is never a bad thing and the number one way to hit all of these at once is by attending a few events and throwing yourself out there to the masses. I know that online interaction is one of the main reasons why most of us are out here in Silicon Valley, but we need to make sure that we never forget true, face-to-face interaction and the impact that you can have on someone because if it. Meeting someone, chatting with them and engaging them in an actual conversation is powerful stuff and it provides a great foundation for the online relationships that develop from them. Real people rule.
I bring all of this up because last night I attended an event called STIRR: DealHacks right here in Palo Alto. I had no idea, but the event is produced by a guy named Sanford Barr whom I met at the Ash Bash last weekend, where he was walking around with a hat collecting some cash from the party goers - securing funding for the cocktails and BBQ, if you will. He was a super cool guy and even though we only chatted for a few minutes, I could tell that he was someone I wanted to stay in touch with. Little did I know that he ran one of the best events in town - who would’ve thought, right?
The STIRR: DealHacks event describes itself as ‘[an event that] brings together founding teams of startups to connect and forge relationships.‘ They also emphasize that this is not a pitch session by openly stating ‘This isn’t a pitch session and please don’t attend if your only goal is to find funding.‘ Personally I found this event to be very, very valuable and well worth the $20 tickets that got me and my fellow PhotoCrank’rs in the door. Hearing the VCs talk about their experience with startups and how their brains work when it comes to bringing a new team on board was very interesting and engaging, but a little short-lived in my opinion(about 5 minutes). I think that it would have been nice to have a little bit of dialogue or Q&A with them after they spoke as well. I think that this gives the audience a great opportunity to get instant feedback from the VCs that they most likely showed up for in the first place. A little value-add never hurts and it could be implemented very easily.
In Twitter speak (140 characters or less) here is what I thought about each of the presenters in the order that they spoke:
- Jeff Clavier: A down-to-Earth guy who came to the States to fulfill his startup passions. He now runs a VC that is a startup. Has an awesome French accent
- Rob Hayes: He really emphasized that he is looking to not only bring on startups with amazing ideas, but with amazing people who he likes working with.
- Adeo Ressi: Not a fan of the VCs ‘true’ intentions and emphasized that startups do their VC homework. ‘They’ll tell you everything that you want to hear
Also, here are a few images that I Crank’d according to the situation and people that are included in them. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand Cranks (or more).
Tyler (with the burly beard) talks about Involver to his adoring fans.
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Pascale Diaine,a fellow evangelist from Orange, poses with me for a shot.
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Sanford nicely tells the crowd to shut the hell up.
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The Ash Bash and a great way to ‘do business’
The guy in the photo to the left is Ash Damle, but most people just simply call him ‘Ash’. If you have never heard of this guy (which I hadn’t until about 3 days ago), consider the fact that you’re reading this now reason enough to go check him out. Hell, feel free to even send him a quick hello - I know that he won’t mind and in fact he’ll probably invite you to his next monthly get together out at his house in Los Altos, CA. I have officially dubbed the far-from-a-strictly-business-networking-event-shindig ‘The Ash Bash’ and if I knew when it was coming up in June, it would already have a spot reserved on my Google Calendar.
I’m not gonna lie, the Ash Bash is probably one of the best events that I’ve checked out since moving out here in Silicon Valley.
Oh and let me tell you something else really quick - a fun party is one thing, but a fun party that a young entrepreneur that’s new to town, working at a fresh startup and looking to meet new people can actually get something out of isway better. This is exactly what the Ash Bash was for me and the rest of the PhotoCrank team that headed out for the drinks, barbecue and socializing on a beautiful Sunday night. By the time we all left we had not only had a great time drinking, eating BBQ and mingling, but we each had all met some great people who will not only end up being valuable contacts for PhotoCrank, but who will also probably become some our newest friends out here in Silicon Valley.
Bottom line: In my opinion, the Ash Bash has created an environment that helps startups like PhotoCrank make some awesome new contacts the best way possible - by getting to know them as a just people first. I feel that if I’m out meeting great, new people who are also part of the Silicon Valley startup madness that we many of us all know and love, then doing business together will just become a natural by-product these relationships. That, to me, is the best way to do business anyways and I feel lucky to have found about Ash and his Bash as soon as I did.
One more thing - Ash isn’t just a party planner, he’s an MIT grad with a super-cool medical startup called MEDgle that you all should check out. I can guarantee you all one thing - everyone who makes their way to an Ash Bash (75+ people and growing) knows ALL about MEDgle as well. Not a bad way to market if you ask me - nice work, Ash. 
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More pics from the party can be found over here on Facebook, I hope to see you all next month.