Ever Contact Silicon Valley Startups?

Hi,

I don't know if you have ever heard of Tech London Advocates (yes I know its UK) but these guys are doing something. Below is a brief clip of Russ Shaw on Silicon Real, you can watch the whole interview on the YT channel. Might help in some way.

[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpvAfoixEE0"]

The problem is in targeting those that are funded versus those that are camped out in their cars dreaming of glory. But finding press releases on those newcos can help you verify whether they're funded and ready to go.

I met a lot of them at networking events in Silicon Valley - that made for stronger relationships, but it's impossible to tell AT the event whether they're serious/funded or not. Different strokes for different folks though. You may get more luck out of mailing or conferences. I think the networking events were great for relationship building, but many of those contacts went nowhere.

I'm sure a lot of them do use video on their sites. Keep in mind that in SV, something like 80-90% of newcos have something to do with technology - an app, a new device, a new software. A lot of the video they do is demo work. That's not to say you couldn't write a better, more appealing script than the one they likely had in mind.

Good luck! It's a huge market and there's always the possibility of hitching your star to the next big thing. But there are a lot of duds to sift through too.

If I was going after this market, I'd be at this event:

Techmanity | Technology For The People

I'd turn it into a total immersion experience.

I've looked into the startup market for our managed IT services.

In my experience there are some major challenges in this market.

Face-to-Face

You really need to meet face-to-face. Many of these firms (or at least those with funding) are in IT hubs (DC, San Fran, Austin, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta etc). Unless you are in those areas, meeting in person can be challenging. So the result is do they use you, who they found online or the guy they met at the bar last week?

Now all of these challenges can be benefits. I've had good conversations with the owner of an IT management firms based in San Fran. Their firm is in the VC's books, they go to all of the meet-ups, they are trusted by many upstarts. As a result, all of the cons above are pros --- if you can break in, it can make marketing

Closed Ranks

Also, I've found that well funded companies often either:

• Go with well known firm.
• Use companies recommended by their investors.

Well funded firms will often go with other firms that are either in the VC's address book or also seen as getting a lot of press. Have you ever noticed that when you visit an upstart in IT services, they often mention other high flying upstarts?

Some will opt for brand-name companies. Why? CYA.

If your hosting fails and you are using Rackspace, the investors ask "What happened at Rackspace?"

If your hosting fails and you are using Bob's Discount Hosting, then the investors ask "Why were you using Bog's Discount Hosting?"


Pretenders

Unless you see a press release about the funding, take Public Enemy's advice and "Don't Believe The Hype".

I've wasted a lot of time talking to startups that were really in the bootstrap phase. They had more time than money and will happily speak to you endlessly about your services despite lacking a budget or plan to implement what you are selling.

Cons Into Pros

Now if you are in a major IT hub and can break into the startup cults, then all of the items above work in your favor. I

I'm preparing a mailing to target funded startups, so I've thought about this problem a lot recently.

djs13 already mentioned Crunchbase, Another database I'm having my assistant comb through is AngelList. You can sort by funding rounds and filter out the garage businesses that don't yet have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on growth.

Jeff's points are valid – a lot of funded startups, especially those high investor involvement – will want to go with someone well-established for most services. But in my experience, there are plenty willing to go with freelancers. We're less expensive in the long term, we provide better work much of the time, and we're a better fit to an agile, constantly growing startup. Worth trying out. Good luck!