If you’re selling sausages door to door, you don’t go to the vegan co-op. If you’re trying to find great founders, you don’t go to a tech event.

When I first started as an angel investor, I went to tons of tech events. For a year, I made sure I hit two per week minimum.

Luckily, I live in the NYC area where there are countless events every day. But now, I only hit a couple per year.

Here’s why…

Great Founders Aren’t at Events

After a year of hitting every event I could find, I took stock. What did I have to show for it?

Countless trips, untold hours. The answer: not much.

I had made numerous investments that year. But I didn’t meet any of those founders at events.

I also noticed something else…

“I’ve invested in a lot of great founders, some in NYC. But I’ve never seen any of them at a tech event.”

The great founders aren’t standing around eating shrimp cocktails. They’re building product or talking to customers.

Those are the levers that move a business forward. The best founders pull those levers relentlessly and ignore everything else.

What Is Worth Going To

One thing I love doing is meeting in person with founders I’ve invested in. I try to do this whenever they’re in town, if they have the time.

It’s great to hear about what they’re building. Sometimes, they just need someone to listen, and I’m happy to do that.

I also get the chance to assess them as a person. That’s 10x easier in the flesh.

That assessment informs follow-on bets. When I met a wonderful founder of mine in person last summer, I was amazed at how he knew every detail of his business.

When the Series A happened that fall, I felt confident doubling down. This summer, I had a chance to see him again and congratulate him on the round.

I also make sure to hit the demo days of top accelerators. This is some of the best dealflow there is.

Luckily, many are online.

Wrap-Up

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” That’s one of my favorite quotes.

It’s simple. But darn if it isn’t hard to do!

It’s easy to accept these very kind invitations that so many folks extend. But I have to have the discipline to say no.

My business is meeting great founders. Anything that doesn’t get me closer to that has to go.

So if you don’t see me at the next tech event, you know where I’ll be: sitting on Zoom, looking for the next Elon.

Do you go to tech events?

More on tech:

Small Investors Lead to Big Investors

Meet My Latest Investment: PodcastAI

Why Your Startup Must Be a Delaware C Corp

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