Every entrepreneur knows that relationships are the key to success. It’s important to build relationships with mentors who can help you when the going gets tough, trustworthy investors who can fund your growth, and experts in your field who can serve as advisers.
But there are many other relationships that you may be writing off as not that important. Developing relationships with certain, oft-untapped groups has served as a critical driver of success at my last two multimillion-dollar startups.
Here are four groups of people I recommend spending more time with, starting today.
Bootcamp directors and computer science department heads
Hiring engineers early in your startup’s life can be tough. You need top-quality help, but typically don’t have a top-quality budget. My secret for tapping the best entry-level talent out there is to get to know the folks who are educating the next generation.
Entrepreneurs know they should be keeping an eye on their competition, but I believe in building a relationship with my rivals.
Obviously, if you have a computer science degree yourself, starting with your alumni connections is step one. But even if you don’t, you’re likely surrounded by local universities or community colleges with strong computer science programs. Larger cities also have bootcamps that churn out engineers with solid project experience under their belts.
By getting to know the leadership at these organizations, whether that’s department heads, career services directors, or even notable teachers and professors, you can get amazing benefits, such as invitations to career fairs, insider info, and introductions to rising stars who could be the perfect fit for your company.
Disgruntled customers
You likely already seek feedback from your customers. It can be tempting to focus on customers who are generally happy and offer incremental thoughts on how the product could improve. But if you want the most efficient and valuable feedback, spend most of your time talking with customers who truly need what you’re offering but are unhappy with your product.
You’re bound to have some customers who simply aren’t the right fit for your product, and it’s OK to largely set aside what they have to say. But really listen to the ones who fit within your target audience and are still unhappy. If you give them a platform, these people can serve as an informal advisory board and provide insights that will help you improve your product by leaps and bounds.
Keep seeking their feedback as you make changes — even consider asking them to be beta testers — and you’ll be amazed by how much stronger your product gets, and how quickly they become happier customers.
The tech community on Twitter
It wouldn’t have been surprising to suggest building relationships on Twitter five years ago, but these days, I think this aspect of the platform has been a little neglected. As people have flocked to the latest hot social networks, plenty of folks in the tech community have remained steadfast on Twitter. As it’s become more niche, I’d argue the platform has become more valuable.
With the right connections, you’ll often hear about helpful business opportunities before anyone else. Need recruiting help? Follow competitive businesses or major companies in your sector so you can be the first to hear when they’ve laid off employees. Some organizations or executives even put together spreadsheets of employees looking for jobs, which can lead to great hires.
Want access to bleeding-edge technology? Follow serial entrepreneurs and innovators to get early access to new products that could help your company work more effectively. You could also follow journalists in your field to participate in easy PR opportunities when they pose questions on the platform.
Your closest competitors
Entrepreneurs know they should be keeping an eye on their competition, but I believe in building a relationship with rivals. Taking a “rising tide lifts all boats” approach will let you develop amicable relationships with people on a similar path, which can allow for valuable information sharing and partnership opportunities that benefit everyone.
More importantly, these bonds have been critical to one of my companies’ biggest growth strategies: acquisitions. This isn’t some Trojan horse approach where my co-founder and I pretend to be friendly and then take over. Instead, developing meaningful relationships with competitors makes us the first people they think of if they’re ever looking to sell.
Moreover, because we’re starting on friendly terms, we’re often able to negotiate creative financing options that benefit both parties. For instance, my company recently acquired another player in the space. Thanks to our relationship with the founder, we were able to pay a more affordable amount upfront, and agree to keep paying him a portion of revenue going forward until the complete amount is paid off.
Ultimately, success in business comes from the people you surround yourself with, and there are multitudes who can surprise you with the impact they can have on your work. Treat relationship-building like it’s your job (because it is, at least part of it), and you’ll be amazed how far collaboration can take your business.