{"id":37276,"date":"2023-10-20T14:49:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/a-survival-guide-for-young-entrepreneurs-in-silicon-valley-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:49:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:49:07","slug":"a-survival-guide-for-young-entrepreneurs-in-silicon-valley-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/a-survival-guide-for-young-entrepreneurs-in-silicon-valley-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"A survival guide for young entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My name is Jade and I\u2019m a Sydney-sider coffee addict that\u2019s currently in San Francisco for two months to learn about what it\u2019s like to be here in the heart of Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m currently working on a startup called Homeful<\/a>, to help people achieve financial freedom, escape the rental rat race and live in their dream suburb at less than what they\u2019re paying for rent.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m in San Francisco with Startmate<\/a>, Australia\u2019s version of Y-Combinator, to see what really happens here in the heart of this city that conceived almost every iconic tech company that we know today.<\/p>\n

I landed here a week ago and it has been a mind-boggling, whirlwind journey as a solo, female Aussie entrepreneur, trying to get people to pay attention in this city of lights and loud noises.<\/p>\n

So what do you do to make the most of San Francisco? Well the preparation should start before you hop off the plane.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Ask everyone you know if they know someone else in San Francisco<\/h3>\n

Warm introductions are what makes the world turn in San Francisco. Getting into the \u201cin-crowd\u201d is difficult\u200a\u2014\u200aMeetup.com is derided as useless. All the valuable events are invite-only, and require you to know other people.<\/p>\n

As such, when you land, to get over your jetlag you should set up as many meetings as you can. And in every meeting ask who else they can introduce you to talk to. But always come to the table with a goal – mine is \u201cI want to get into an US-based accelerator, and meet people with experience in building 3-sided marketplaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Often, people here are so polite and eager to help, that you\u2019ll always get a gold nugget out of the meeting. If not, then at least you\u2019ve had a cup of coffee to help get over the jetlag.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find that given the time difference, you\u2019ll be far more alert in the AM than the PM – 4pm is usually when jetlag kicks in the hardest.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s someone in particular you want to meet, use Conspire.com<\/a> to see who can introduce you.<\/p>\n

Always send a follow up email<\/h3>\n

Always do this with everyone that you meet, and recite the two or three main things you learnt from the meeting and how that might drive your next steps forward. It is also an excellent opportunity to ask for another introduction to someone else.<\/p>\n

Remember when\u00a0sending a request for an introduction\u200a to always do all the hard work for them and include a paragraph about yourself and what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

This is what I include in the emails to ask for an introduction:<\/p>\n

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Introducing you to Jade, from <\/em>Homeful<\/em><\/a>. She\u2019s building a company to help people achieve financial freedom, escape the rental rat race and live in their dream suburb while getting out of debt. Homeful uses <\/em>tiny houses<\/em><\/a> renting out empty backyards to help people own their own house in their dream suburb at a fraction of the price and financial commitment of typical home ownership.<\/em><\/p>\n

She\u2019s looking for advice on {{insert your ask here}}. She\u2019s in San Francisco for the next month, and would appreciate an opportunity to chat.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Short, snappy emails are the way to go. I\u2019m not very good at this\u200a\u2014\u200abut I\u2019ve been using a plugin called Crystal Knows<\/a>\u00a0that has been great at helping me identify the personalities and \u201cemail preferences\u201d of the people I reach out to.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t go down 6th Avenue or Tenderloin – take Uber and Lyft<\/h3>\n

What shocked me the most about San Francisco was\u00a0the micro-suburbs. We\u2019re currently living in StartupHouse<\/a>, which is off 5th Avenue (which is quite a lovely street with Westfields and hotels) \u2014but if you walk one block down to 6th Avenue, it gets very weird. Fast.<\/p>\n

I completely understand why Uber and Lyft worked so well starting in San Francisco. The need for \u201cshort commute\u201d solutions, especially through Tenderloin, makes something that\u2019s cheaper than taxis but easier than public transport a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

Uber Pool and Lyft Line are also excellent ways to meet locals in the community. You\u2019ll be surprised how often you might bump into another VC \/ founder in the car\u200a\u2014\u200aso have a 2 minute pitch ready.<\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0through co-working paces to network with locals<\/h3>\n

If your goal is to meet people, a great way is to stay a week in different co-living and co-working spaces. The locals entrepreneurs all congregate around these \u201cco-working hostels\u201d, and you can get invited to the \u201cinsider events\u201d and activities by being around the action.<\/p>\n

Some examples of coliving spaces in San Francisco are:<\/p>\n