Last week a founder and I connected over the industrial band Combichrist and now we're going to work together.
I've written multiple times about how the first dance music compilation CD that I bought influenced my email address, which led to a publisher responding to cold outreach, which led to the launch of IGN, a one-time public company.
It happened again :)
Last week I was introduced to a potential client. When looking up his LinkedIn profile, I noticed he owned a small music label specializing in industrial music.
He's trying to do important and challenging work at his startup, but what we really bonded over was when I asked him about goth and industrial music. Both of us are big fans.
As a founder, it's sometimes easy to turn people into commodities -- potential customers, employees, partners, investors, etc. I sometimes do that as a coach, where people are potential clients or not potential clients. That's going to happen for anyone who has the weight of a company on their shoulders.
People want to be seen and valued for who they are, not simply what they do for work. I spent 30 years starting tech companies, but if you want to really connect with me, don't talk about that. Talk about the struggles of parenthood or the meaning of music or your favorite visual artist.
This is a reminder that both entrepreneurship and life boil down to connection. When you invest time in peeling back the layers with someone, you're more likely you find a point of true intersection and that's when good things happen.