Last week I had an enlightening conversation with Ted McAleer, managing director of PandoLabs, an innovation center in Park City, Utah.
PandoLabs is a slick and welcoming co-working space on the edge of Park City, just 20 minutes from Salt Lake and 30 minutes from the airport. It's intentionally located to link the booming economy of downtown with entrepreneurs/investors in Park City and the mountain economy beyond.
As he was describing to me the value of PandoLabs mentoring program, McAleer pulled out the image you see below, and started explaining how entrepreneurs benefit from the personal relationships held by their mentors.
In other words, an entrepreneur shouldn't be thinking, "Do I really need some older professional giving me advice?" Instead, s/he should be asking, "Can I expand my personal relationships by joining the mentor program?"
The thing I most love about this graphic is that it shows how one human network builds on another, and then another.
Starting at the bottom, you see how the mentor program helps connects entrepreneurs to the highly active and influential Park City Angel Network (PCAN), which has collectively been a vital supporter of PandoLabs. These relationships then connect to over 300 community business leaders, which include many businesses and venues that attract high-powered talent and conferences throughout the year. Lastly, mentors and business leaders then have personal relationships that stretch not only across the State of Utah but also around the world.
Human relationships are the best way to grow any business.
Too often, entrepreneurs and executives make the mistake of thinking that a thing is the key to their success: a business plan, spreadsheet, cool new technology, or hot new app.
Nonsense.
Investors invest in people.
Your current great idea may not work, but if you are an adept entrepreneur with a strong team and a vibrant personal network, you will eventually figure out a way to reward the investors who believe in you.
All the things you can think of are merely tools. They are a means to an end. Your real assets are all human:
- Human ingenuity
- Human relationships
- Human tenacity
In Park City, the person sitting next to you on a ski lift is often a CEO, investor, entrepreneur or developer. The place is a mecca for passionate, curious and successful people. You can find such people in New York or Tokyo, too, but here they are often relaxed and receptive.
If you truly want to succeed in business, then you will never stop working to build new human relationships, and to strengthen the ones you already have.
But here's a critical point that many miss. Don't just network to build your network. Form actual bonds with other people. Find people who mean enough to you that you are willing to help them, even when it is inconvenient for you to do so.
Growing a business isn't about finding others to help you. It is about helping others.
In your relationships, in your networking, and in your business plans...help others.
That is the way to grow and prosper.
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