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I've been trying for months to find fellow startups or entrepreneurs in my city. I've come to the conclusion there aren't any (or they're very good at hiding).

I've been trying for months to find fellow startups or entrepreneurs in my city. I've come to the conclusion there aren't any (or they're very good at hiding). Silly, considering Wachovia, Hanes/Sara Lee, RJ Reynolds, Wrangler, Krispy Kreme, and about a million other big companies are based here in Winston-Salem or very close by... Redhat is based about 30 minutes away, as well as a bunch of large tech companies (in Raleigh). There's even this silly group that tries to connect business and creative people, but their events are so terrible I can't bring myself to go... think "The development of Disney as a cultural phenomena"... and I know others feel the same. I've offered to help them, offered event ideas, but these folks think they know it all. Too bad the time I did go, there were only maybe a dozen or so people there, all mostly employees of this partnership group. So if there are any startups in North Carolina (especially the Triad) raise your hands, lets buy each other a beer soon.

thaumaturgy 17y ago
Three words: network, network, network. You'll never find anyone with a printed ad or by posting flyers (I know, I've tried that too). I'm gradually turning my small town into a startup hub, and it's great. So far my efforts have helped launch a co-working space and have helped a bunch of creative and technical people meet each-other. There are some money people in my area too, and they should be getting interested pretty soon. Even if those meeting suck, go to them. Get to know anybody worth knowing. Suggest creating a new group or club (make sure it has a specific purpose and some direction). Go to chamber of commerce mixers religiously -- even if the first four send you home empty-handed, the fifth might get you a curious entrepreneur. Pay close attention to the items in the local newspaper. Start keeping a list of who the "movers and shakers" are in your area. I wasn't real fond of the YC process, or of living in the Bay Area, and I already had some things going here. So ... why not keep pushing things here and create the environment I wanted?
- silvia77 17y ago
  Amen to that. Great stuff. Just curious, in what part of the country is this small-town startup-hub?
  - thaumaturgy 17y ago
    Grass Valley, California. Lots of trees, animals, great mountain biking, starting point for this year's Amgen, and host to a number of technology companies (including 2Wire, Spectrum Sensors & Controls, Grass Valley Group (known for producing very high quality video control boards), and a number of others, and formerly one of the original homes to Atari.)
- mattblalock 17y ago
  I don't want to sound like a whiney sissy, but here it is: I've seriously tried. Chamber meetings are packed with super professional looking, suit and tie, type folks. I'm no suit and tie guy. I have a couple shirts with buttons, but... I just looked into the meetings earlier tonight, before reading your reply (sorry, I'm 6 days late) - the partnership fell apart and the meetings have stopped. Guess nobody went. I've put ads on Craigslist, posted flyers in coffee shops, hung out in said coffee shops. Hung around Wake Forest, pestered business professors, went to several meetup.com events (completely irrelevant events, but events nonetheless)... Thank you for the motivation, I'm going out there! :D

thaumaturgy 17y ago

Three words: network, network, network. You'll never find anyone with a printed ad or by posting flyers (I know, I've tried that too). I'm gradually turning my small town into a startup hub, and it's great. So far my efforts have helped launch a co-working space and have helped a bunch of creative and technical people meet each-other. There are some money people in my area too, and they should be getting interested pretty soon. Even if those meeting suck, go to them. Get to know anybody worth knowing. Suggest creating a new group or club (make sure it has a specific purpose and some direction). Go to chamber of commerce mixers religiously -- even if the first four send you home empty-handed, the fifth might get you a curious entrepreneur. Pay close attention to the items in the local newspaper. Start keeping a list of who the "movers and shakers" are in your area. I wasn't real fond of the YC process, or of living in the Bay Area, and I already had some things going here. So ... why not keep pushing things here and create the environment I wanted?

silvia77 17y ago
Amen to that. Great stuff. Just curious, in what part of the country is this small-town startup-hub?
- thaumaturgy 17y ago
  Grass Valley, California. Lots of trees, animals, great mountain biking, starting point for this year's Amgen, and host to a number of technology companies (including 2Wire, Spectrum Sensors & Controls, Grass Valley Group (known for producing very high quality video control boards), and a number of others, and formerly one of the original homes to Atari.)
mattblalock 17y ago
I don't want to sound like a whiney sissy, but here it is: I've seriously tried. Chamber meetings are packed with super professional looking, suit and tie, type folks. I'm no suit and tie guy. I have a couple shirts with buttons, but... I just looked into the meetings earlier tonight, before reading your reply (sorry, I'm 6 days late) - the partnership fell apart and the meetings have stopped. Guess nobody went. I've put ads on Craigslist, posted flyers in coffee shops, hung out in said coffee shops. Hung around Wake Forest, pestered business professors, went to several meetup.com events (completely irrelevant events, but events nonetheless)... Thank you for the motivation, I'm going out there! :D