I attended MeetStream and Prefactor Founders Night during SF Tech Week. It was another opportunity to be in the room with founders instead of relying entirely on online outreach.

  1. Make space for the conversation

    Much of my outreach has been through cold calls, emails and LinkedIn. Showing up in person was part of changing that pattern during the week.

  2. Carry a better question into the room

    The question I am taking forward is what a founder is actually struggling with, what they have already tried and what still gets in the way. That is a lesson from the week as a whole, rather than a quote from this event.

My takeaway

There is value in making time for the conversation itself. The next step is to listen carefully enough to understand the problem before deciding whether I can help.

Thank you to MeetStream, Prefactor and the founders who made time for the evening.

Questions from this recap

What did attending in person add to the week?

It created another opportunity for direct founder conversations alongside my usual online outreach. My broader lesson was to listen before offering a solution.

What do you learn from meeting founders that you do not get from online outreach?