

How Ron Conway became the Valley's most influential start-up investor - cwan
http://www.siliconvalley.com/opinion/ci_14948375

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stevenbrianhall
My favorite part of the article:

"One of his [Conway's] investments was a podcasting startup called Odeo run by
Ev Williams. Odeo failed, and Williams took the unusual step of returning his
investors' money.

"I thought that was a magnanimous gesture," Conway said. "I decided to set
that money aside and invest in whatever Ev did next."

It's really the ideal situation to be in a position to be able to return an
Angel's money, but Ron's comment seems to sum up why he's a good person to
know. He strikes me as the quintessential investor that lots of people talk
about, one who invests just as much (or more) in people as in their ideas.

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hga
_Tremendously_ high signal to noise ratio article, highly recommended. Helps
you understand how he's more than just the ultimate networker in SV, how
making 500 angel investments in 15 years has worked out well in the long run.

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Harj
_Helps you understand how he's more than just the ultimate networker in SV_

since joining yc, i've met a lot of people and come to realize there's two
types of 'networkers' and it'd be unfair to class Ron as a 'networker' without
defining the distinction (as i see it):

\- empty networkers: people who spend the majority of their time meeting other
people, ensuring everyone knows their name, telling entertaining stories with
a drink in their hand and promoting their personal brand at every opportunity.
the only email you receive from them are ones asking you to do something for
them or their company without offering anything specific in return. a lot of
biz dev people fall into this description, especially old school ones at big
companies.

\- connectors: people who make a real effort to know who you are, what you're
working on and how they can help you. these people follow up via email and
make intro's for you, without you even asking. they're universally well liked
because there's a large number of people they've helped in some way, who are
continually telling other people about the story of how X helped them.

Ron is the definition of the second type. In just three months, I've lost
count of the number of useful introductions he's made or things he's helped
with. Granted he's an investor in YC so he has a reason for doing so but he
goes beyond the standard level of being helpful into something more, it's that
bit extra he doesn't have to do. I intend to model my approach to 'networking'
entirely upon how Ron does it - by being genuinely benevolent and helpful to
people I meet.

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alain94040
_\- connectors: people who make a real effort to know who you are, what you're
working on and how they can help you. these people follow up via email and
make intro's for you, without you even asking._

How does one make a living from being a connector? It sounds like a lovely
job, but there's a reason why more people are _empty networkers_ : they are
pushing their own agenda to make a living.

I know you could say that one should take the long term view, and that if you
are a great connector, eventually good things will happen. It's like saying
that you should start a blog to find a job. The blog won't make you money, but
it will land you a job (maybe). Connecting people may land you a great job at
some point. Too bad, I wanted to keep being a connector. How do I do that?

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rdl
Become an angel investor. Part of the value-add in your investments of money
is your willingness to be a connector for portfolio.

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adrianwaj
Summary: SF baby boomer makes money in the corporate world in marketing.
Starts a startup which goes public in early 80's. Becomes a CEO again. Takes
earnings and then invests in emerging area of web and IT startups in 90s, with
larger than average angel funds he setup. Burnt in the dotcom bubble, but
saved by stakes in Google and Paypal. Says 'no' more often these days, but
continues helping people out wherever he can and seeing continued deal flow.
Good on him, I wonder what his technical knowledge is like.

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callmeed
Out of curiosity, how does one pitch to Ron/SV Angel?

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gsmaverick
Get an introduction from someone in his network. As far as I know this is the
only way you can pitch him.

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TotlolRon
> "Ron is the Internet," will.i.am said.

I would have said that maybe this was a little hyped. But my name is Ron, so I
think it is 100% correct.

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jaybol
Despite the downvotes you've received, I agree that you are the internet Ron

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TotlolRon
yes.i.am

upvoted for insight.

