I’ve always been a strong believer in the value networking. I’ve experienced the value of listening to different points of views & ideas from other entrepreneurs / developers / business people / taxi drivers, just about anyone … many times.

I just watched this excellent TED talk called “When ideas have sex“… I found that the video really drove home the power of networking.

In the video, the presenter gives examples of how, throughout history, the tribes and countries that were the most connected thrived the most. He goes on to point out that IQ and intelligence aren’t as important as the ability to exchange & trade with others.

I agree. Partly because I don’t think I’m all that smart… but I love to network. I find it very interesting to talk to people and ask questions. I always assume I’m wrong which means that I need to listen to others to find better ways to do things.

In today’s world where knowledge is power, one’s ability to network, exchange ideas and truly listen to as many other people’s perspectives as possible is a huge advantage. Especially when you listen to people smarter & more experienced than you.

It’s a cliche but, the smarter the people you surround yourself with, the better your chances are of success.

I’m lucky, TripAdvisor acquired TravelPod and now I have the privilege of working with some of the smartest people in the online space in the world. 

The question for startups is: How do you exchange ideas and have meaningful conversations with people smarter than you are if you are in a small team and don’t have the luxury of hiring dozens of smart talented individuals.

Here are a few suggestions:

- Work out of a co-location facility like the Code Factory where there are others working on similar projects who are going through similar challenges that you’re facing.

- Join local groups of like minded people ( I personally get a lot of value from going to Fresh Founders here in Ottawa ).

- Ask smart, and specific questions. Small talk is fine, but chatting about specific challenges & opportunities is fun and valuable to both parties in the discussion. The better your questions the more value you’ll get from your discussion. Don’t be afraid to ask people for advice. 

- Move to a hub where other like-minded people thrive. Although it’s often debated  whether you need to move to Silicon Valley to be successful in tech. It’s obviously possible to win outside of the valley, but being local in the valley where you can have lunch and build relationships with people in similar industries or who are working at important companies like Google and Facebook is a huge advantage which is often over looked.

- If you can, join a few advisory boards. Ideally in other industries than the ones you’re involved in. Working with companies in different verticals will force you to think differently about problems.

- Join an incubator like YearOneLabs and talk to your peers often. Find out what they’re doing. What’s working and what isn’t. 

- Go to conferences and network your butt off. Talk to as many people as possible. 

I highly recommend you watch the video.