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094: What to Do When Moving to Silicon Valley
Today we are going to talk about what to do when moving to Silicon Valley. Steli received an email from a listener who had heard that Steli sold everything and bought a one-way ticket to the Bay Area. The listener was looking for guidance on what he should and shouldn’t do, so we decided to make this the topic of our show.
Steli arrived in the Bay Area with nowhere to stay and no idea how to move forward. By chance, he ended up sitting next to Dave McClure and near Robert Scoble at a dinner on his first night. Dave McClure wasn’t that welcoming when Steli tried to listen in on his new app demo, but Robert Scoble told Steli to call him the next day once he found out this was his first night in the the United States.
Thanks to the kindness of Robert Scoble, Steli did his first online interview in the U.S. He got an insider's tour of Silicon Valley courtesy of Robert on his 2nd day. Then he attended an event where Robert spoke and Steli had the nerve to steal an open mic and make an introduction and ask for friends. He subsequently spent the next two weeks returning calls and hanging out with people who had given him their cards.
Hiten moved back to L.A. after college, but he kept coming to the Bay Area to work on tech projects. In 2007, he and his wife decided to make the Bay Area their permanent home. Hiten was an advisor to Slideshare and Webs.com. Both of these companies sold for 9 figures, and Hiten felt he was able to be involved and make money just by doing what came natural, which was being helpful, making friends and networking.
Today we share our stories and tips for making the move a smooth transition.
Topics include:
Making friends - Make friends online and visit once or twice before the move
Network by just being helpful
Bring something that can create value to the table - make sure that you can do something valuable for people
We chose the Bay Area because there were more people here trying to start things, but you don’t have to choose this area for your startup efforts
It’s easy to make friends by just being present at an event or a dinner, the networking can come naturally by just getting an invite from a friend
In the Bay Area there are more events than you could attend, even if you made it your life’s work
A great way to get started networking when you don’t know anyone is to volunteer at an event - everyone needs volunteers
It’s a classic no brainer to message someone like Gretchen at SaaStr and ask if she needs volunteers - we have made several connections with volunteers at events
For the first four weeks go everywhere and meet everyone and let the universe and serendipity do its thing
Once the initial connections are made start valuing your time and focus on meeting the right people and founders to move forward
It’s fine to listen to a talk from someone 100 steps ahead of you, but mingle with people maybe only 2 steps ahead of you
Just like Steli’s chance meeting and connection with Robert Scoble, you have to put yourself out there and see what will happen
Steli’s advice for newcomers is to join a small team, by working with a small group of talented people there is a good chance you will find your next co-founder or employee
In order to succeed, you need great people to build a business around
Links and Resources:
Slideshare
Webs.com
Startup2Startup
SaaStr
Dave McClure 500 Hats
Robert Scoble Post about Steli Efti
Video of Steli’s 2nd Day in the US - A One Way Ticket From Germany to Silicon Valley
We invite you to join our Facebook group. It’s great to have such an incredible group of entrepreneurs out there making it happen every day. We’d love to hear from you; please feel free to join our Facebook group and share your experiences, challenges, and motivation with us and the rest of Startup Chat community.
View all episodes
By Steli Efti & Hiten Shah: Serial Entrepreneurs, Sales & Marketing Experts, Startup Investors & Advisors, CEOs running multi million dollar SaaS Startups
4.8
201201 ratings
Today we are going to talk about what to do when moving to Silicon Valley. Steli received an email from a listener who had heard that Steli sold everything and bought a one-way ticket to the Bay Area. The listener was looking for guidance on what he should and shouldn’t do, so we decided to make this the topic of our show.
Steli arrived in the Bay Area with nowhere to stay and no idea how to move forward. By chance, he ended up sitting next to Dave McClure and near Robert Scoble at a dinner on his first night. Dave McClure wasn’t that welcoming when Steli tried to listen in on his new app demo, but Robert Scoble told Steli to call him the next day once he found out this was his first night in the the United States.
Thanks to the kindness of Robert Scoble, Steli did his first online interview in the U.S. He got an insider's tour of Silicon Valley courtesy of Robert on his 2nd day. Then he attended an event where Robert spoke and Steli had the nerve to steal an open mic and make an introduction and ask for friends. He subsequently spent the next two weeks returning calls and hanging out with people who had given him their cards.
Hiten moved back to L.A. after college, but he kept coming to the Bay Area to work on tech projects. In 2007, he and his wife decided to make the Bay Area their permanent home. Hiten was an advisor to Slideshare and Webs.com. Both of these companies sold for 9 figures, and Hiten felt he was able to be involved and make money just by doing what came natural, which was being helpful, making friends and networking.
Today we share our stories and tips for making the move a smooth transition.
Topics include:
Making friends - Make friends online and visit once or twice before the move
Network by just being helpful
Bring something that can create value to the table - make sure that you can do something valuable for people
We chose the Bay Area because there were more people here trying to start things, but you don’t have to choose this area for your startup efforts
It’s easy to make friends by just being present at an event or a dinner, the networking can come naturally by just getting an invite from a friend
In the Bay Area there are more events than you could attend, even if you made it your life’s work
A great way to get started networking when you don’t know anyone is to volunteer at an event - everyone needs volunteers
It’s a classic no brainer to message someone like Gretchen at SaaStr and ask if she needs volunteers - we have made several connections with volunteers at events
For the first four weeks go everywhere and meet everyone and let the universe and serendipity do its thing
Once the initial connections are made start valuing your time and focus on meeting the right people and founders to move forward
It’s fine to listen to a talk from someone 100 steps ahead of you, but mingle with people maybe only 2 steps ahead of you
Just like Steli’s chance meeting and connection with Robert Scoble, you have to put yourself out there and see what will happen
Steli’s advice for newcomers is to join a small team, by working with a small group of talented people there is a good chance you will find your next co-founder or employee
In order to succeed, you need great people to build a business around
Links and Resources:
Slideshare
Webs.com
Startup2Startup
SaaStr
Dave McClure 500 Hats
Robert Scoble Post about Steli Efti
Video of Steli’s 2nd Day in the US - A One Way Ticket From Germany to Silicon Valley
We invite you to join our Facebook group. It’s great to have such an incredible group of entrepreneurs out there making it happen every day. We’d love to hear from you; please feel free to join our Facebook group and share your experiences, challenges, and motivation with us and the rest of Startup Chat community.
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