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In business especially, you never know where life will take you. Never underestimate the power of a coffee run or a trip to the supermarket. After all, elevator pitches aren’t only good for elevators.
In order to find out the most unusual places startup founders have met investors and advisors, we asked a panel of eight entrepreneurs the following question:
Q. What’s the most unusual place you met an investor or advisor?
Their best answers are below:
1. A Beauty Boutique
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One of the most unusual and fun places I have met an advisor was at a beauty store. Because Poshly is a beauty-meets-technology company, the advisor wanted me to tour a high-end beauty boutique that carries many independent labels and brands. Not only was it a creative meeting place to peruse the latest beauty finds, but it was also productive to discussing beauty marketing and distribution.
– Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.
2. A Magazine Cover
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I was in a cab on the way to the airport at 4 a.m., and I was using a Dutch business magazine to keep me awake. Fascinated by an interview with an entrepreneur featured on the cover, I sent him an email a week after returning home. He invested in our company three months later.
– Tyler Arnold, SimplySocial Inc.
3. Starbucks
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If you hang around the Starbucks on Sand Hill Road, you will meet pretty much all the investors who work in the neighborhood. I once stopped there for coffee between two pitches and ended up doing a demo and pitch to three investors. Make sure you wear your startup T-shirt; it will get people asking.
– Ioannis Verdelis, Syntellia
4. A Neighborhood Potluck
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I met one of our first investors when I was 14 at a community event my parents persuaded me to attend. At the time, I had no idea I’d ever found a company or any clue that this person might become an investor. She did, however, become a mentor to me. Ten years later, we still had a strong relationship, and she anchored our seed round because of the trust we’d built over the years.
– Martina Welke, Zealyst
5. The Bathroom Line
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Meeting an amazing mentor at the Robert Verdi Lounge is just proof that showing up and being present is half the battle. The more you get out and meet people, the better, which is why I’m always pushing myself to meet new people, step out of my comfort zone and network. You never know who you’ll meet, what amazing advice you’ll receive and what powerful and influential friendships you may find.
– Rebecca Zorowitz, Ooh La La Candy
6. A Wedding
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My husband and I were attending an old college friend’s wedding and met another entrepreneur in the biotech industry who has been an amazing advisor and gives straight, no-holds-barred advice.
– Benish Shah, Before the Label
7. His House
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Years ago, I met an investor at his very, very large house. He was barefoot and insisted I followed suit, so I bared my feet and pitched Ustream to him for the first time. I quickly forgot about the initial, seemingly awkward request because we chatted for a while about the evolving live video streaming industry.
– Brad Hunstable, Ustream, Inc
8. A Party in Miami
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Many have probably heard the story of how my sister, Stacey Ferreira, and I met Sir Richard Branson at his party in Miami. Less than a month later, he and his friend Jerry Murdock invested in MySocialCloud to give us our first big start. It was a different way to meet an investor, but the laid-back and casual environment made it a lot easier to talk openly about what we were doing.
– Scott Ferreira, MySocialCloud
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About Young Entrepreneur Council
The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.
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