What do you stand for?

The quote above is attributed to a few people from Alexander Hamilton, Peter Marshall and Ginger Rogers are some of the possible authors. (Source: Oxford Dictionary of Quotations)

What do you stand for? Do you know?

It is an interesting human condition to want to stand out, but also be part of a group. Following the crowd is all well and good, but are you following the right crowd? Do they share your values? Your core values go to the centre of your being. By calling yours out, it means you could stand out and people can judge you. This makes you vulnerable and can fill you with fear. We all want to be liked, again, another human condition. This is hard to take, but by standing out, you have the possibility of meeting the right people, with similar or supportive values.

What we stand for helps drive us forward and motivates us to do our best. Having the right people around you to support you, will propel you further than you can go alone. If you don’t care, you will feel nothing.

@LadyGhilaine

Ghilaine

The practical application of help

Michelle Morton is one of those ladies that does things differently, because she has found that the way she does it works. She runs a premium consultancy and social enterprise supporting globally-spread technology start-ups with sales, lean marketing and business development duties. You may ask, what is so special about that? Well, she runs this consultancy in a way that also prepares and trains NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training) into meaningful jobs. She has had many of these young people pass through her ‘program’ and onto careers. She talks passionately about the past and future for all of them. She wonders what more she can do and is currently looking for help to be able to grow this program to be able to help more young people. If you feel you have something you can help with, please do let me know and I can pass you to Michelle.

Someone like that leaves you awestruck and wanting to help. One of things she needed was some office space for her and her current ‘recruits’. Gladly, I was able to introduce her to Anthony of Goodfruits who was able to help.

Anthony has built GOODFRUIT. It is crowdfunded platform with a difference. It a crowdfunds and skill sources for cultural and social projects with integrity. A community where dreamers connect with co-dreamers and bring good fruit to life . Not only can you raise money to invest in your business, you can raise skills and time. For me this is a great idea. If you don’t have money, but you want to help a company grow, you can offer your skills or time to help.

Darshan has a lot going on, but everything he does has a purpose focussing on the greater good. He is a fellow TLA and he runs a great initiative called State of Ambition. It is a non-profit that is aiming to raise aspirations for 16-30 year olds, by providing role models and a programme that gives then practical steps to learn new things that produce outcomes that they can use to give real world examples of experience that is useful in the job market. The program itself has high ambitions and it is working with companies who can help show these young people what can be achieved and how. The How is very important. Most people know what they should do and why they should do it. But how can be a lot more difficult. The how comes from seeing how others do it. You need someone who exhibits the right behaviours to guide you and nudge you.

As you can see these people have a lot in common and can likely help each other. I was so glad to be able to put them together to go off and do even greater things.

Hope you have a great day!

Ghilaine

@LadyGhilaine

ABC of Networking

I have broken down some networking tips into some easy to remember parts. I hope it helps. I want to follow up with some other handy tips on what to talk about and how best to move around a room, not getting stuck too long in one conversation. I hope you enjoy!

Ask Questions

Have you ever been stuck with someone who talks about a subject that you are not interested in or they are already deep in conversation with someone already. The best way to start get into conversation is to ask questions. If nothing else, you will learn something. When was the last time you felt good about someone, was it the person who was interested in what you had to say? Ta Da! It was the questions that showed you they were interested.

Be Nice

This sounds a bit silly, but if you dismiss what someone says or tell them they are wrong 2 minutes after you have met them, how do you think they will feel about you after that encounter. A quote I love (which I can’t reference)

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always”

This helps me think about my daily interactions. Life is tough, you are having a bad day, so, maybe, is someone else. What makes you special in this regard? Nothing. Remember that sometimes, just a kind word can change someone’s day and, more importantly, mood.

Concentrate on what they have to say

Or another way to say this, is Listen (but that wouldn’t fit into my alphabet!). Don’t look across the room at other people or see who else is around. Really listen and take in what the person is saying. I tend to write things down and it helps me concentrate on what is being said, but sometimes this may not be appropriate. By going back to asking questions, you can clarify what they are saying and by repeating some of what they have said in your own words means it is more easily retained in the memory. By listening, you can watch their face and see how they feel about the subjects they are talking about. Again, their face then becomes memorable too.

Don’t interrupt

This goes back to being a listener and being nice. Whilst others are talking, many people are thinking about what they are going to say and get so excited, they talk over someone else. We teach our children not to interrupt when adults are talking as they sit there minute after minute waiting for a space. What this teaches them is to wait for someone to take a breath and get started as soon as there is a space. Be more considered with your responses. Wait until there is a gap in conversation. If there isn’t one, perhaps you won’t get to hold court today. But another day, you may get your spotlight. Often the most quiet person is seen as enigmatic, so once you have spoken people may think you are the wisest in the room. Or in my case, maybe not!

Exchange details

This isn’t necessary, but for me, meeting new people should always be about seeing how you can help them, by connecting them to someone else or by passing on a little knowledge that could be useful. If you don’t exchange details, you won’t be able to help them properly and your offers will sound and be empty promises. Some people may not want to pass their details to you, so don’t sweat it if you don’t.

Follow up with them afterwards

I am not sure if there is etiquette on this, but if someone has given me their business card, I think it is only courteous to follow up with a message. This can only be done if you have exchanged details. It allows you to follow up with your offer of help or ask any questions that you may have missed when talking with them. As networking is seen as the most basic form of business development, how can you build a good business relationship if you only contact them out of the blue 2 years after you met? This is where LinkedIn comes into its own. By doing the above, I have managed to have some really interesting conversations with people who know a lot about their specialist subjects. I have learned so much and to me that is the sign of a good day! Hope yours is good too. Ghilaine @LadyGhilaine

“There is no London Food Startup Community” – or is there?

After three years of running a food festival in Scotland, I arrived in London in July and my first curiosity led me to ask, where I could find the food startup community down here. Well, I was a bit surprised, because I spent a good time looking and not much time finding.

There are a few small groups that occasionally flock together because they are jointly part of food startup incubator Kitchenette or foodies in the Escape Tribe, or perhaps in the London Food Startups Collective on Facebook. In general though, there sadly seems to be very little sharing of best practice or helping each other out and supporting, as you would find in other industries, especially in Tech. Instead, every great supplier and mentor remains a well-guarded secret for fear by the ketchup startup that the marshmallow startup might steal the customers. Wow.

This revelation led me to wonder:
Don’t these food startups all want to make it big? Surely
entrepreneurs can achieve more together than by themselves!

I took a few solid weeks to speak to well over 100 food entrepreneurs in London to find out what kind of event would really benefit them and their startups. It turned out they all faced similar challenges that were holding them back from taking their food startup to the next level: Creating a strong brand, design or packaging, scaling up production in line with demand, and social media and digital marketing – and knowing the right people who could connect or help them with experts to tackle these challenges. I knew I was onto something.

Throughout the past weeks and months I’ve tapped into and expanded on my network of industry experts and food & food tech startup founders, food bloggers, food startup enthusiasts and investors. I teamed up with another startup, Monkfeet, and we’ve created the Food StartUp School – a conference-like with line up of speakers and workshops we’re very excited to share with the London food and food tech entrepreneurs and enthusiasts. To name a few, we have CEO’s, Founders and MD’s of Jimmy’s Iced Coffee, The Grocery Accelerator, Packed Branding, Eat First, Just Eat and EatMyWorld. It’s a real mix of food and food tech, which is one-of-a-kind as far as London’s conferences and workshops go.

The Food Startup School is obviously not just about the speakers or workshops. Most importantly, it’s about the networking we’re facilitating and thereby building that food startup community and making it powerful. With two networking pitch sessions and three generous time slots for extensive networking, entrepreneurs will be able to make the most of an event packed with industry experts, investors, bloggers, journalists, many fellow entrepreneurs and those curious in food startups and thinking about starting their own.

Want to be part of the community? Check out the Food StartUp School – coming up on Dec 8th in Shoreditch.

Victoria Albrecht

Food StartUp School LDN

We are all portraits of our Community

I had the chance to go to the Portrait Gallery yesterday to see the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition. As any good piece of art would do, it generated deep thoughts and a huge appreciation for those photographers that, through their work and effort, allow us (the viewers) to be inspired through their experiences.

Every time I saw a portrait that really caught my attention, I would read about it with more egger, sometimes wishing more could be said about that piece… I wanted to know why the photographer chose that person, the level of connection between them and details about the photo shoot.
The exhibition displayed the work of different photographers around the world, what made it even more interesting was to see the different approaches they had in each one of the portraits.

While I was there, it came to my mind that we are talking about community this week at Tech Talkfest, and how important it is to be part of a community and even better, to choose to be part of one.

Each one of us carries parts of our backgrounds, deceptions, victories, etc. If someone were to make a portrait of you, how would it be? What would it look like? What would be the main point of attention? Probably if we had to choose, we would position ourselves on our best angle, wear the best outfit. Maybe some of us would rather like to be snapped on a normal day, just as you are right now.

This is the power of networking, that none of us have control of how people capture us, if they’d be intrigued and feel inspired or if they would find a “sidekick” to us. So the good advice is when you and I meet new people – just chill and be you! Everyday we have the same chances to be inspired by people. Why does it have to be in an art gallery or at a music concert? Why can’t it be around a table in a coffee bar having a chat?

Another thing that came out from yesterday’s visit to the Portrait Gallery was that we all involuntarily portrait our own communities. Nearly every portrait I saw drove my thoughts to one of my friends, some situation I’ve been in or a place I’ve visited. Even the least sociable person finds their connections somewhere and has someone to share their ideas with, (even if it’s with a cuddly penguin as we see on the latest John Lewis Christmas advert!).

We are all sociable people and isn’t it great that at Tech Talkfest we can be surrounded by great people with an immense capacity of doing good to us?

Analice Mina Collyer

@analicemina

Word of Mouth is Business Development, is Networking

It is! You know it. We know it.

The magic that makes word of mouth business development in the form of networking is when the right place is the room you are in and it’s full of the right people at the right time wanting what you have to offer.

Consider that, the person you meet:

1. Should know at least two people you know.  Giving first is the best way to be noticed. Introduce them.
2. Could be the perfect alliance or strategic partner for you, your brand, your product, your service.
3.  May be an ideal supplier.
4. A solution to a business problem.
5.  Your next hire.
6.  Your next interview
7. Your next client.

Word of mouth is business development is networking that makes good sense provided the room is full of people who need to know you.

So who needs to know you and if they need to know you, what are you doing about it?

Join Tech Talkfest, a small intimate group of smart, collaborative, tech people.

A very happy end to your working day

Shannon Eastman
@ShannonEastman