Imagine this: You come to a Kingston BETA event, meet someone who shares some key information with you, who then takes and grows your company from 7 people to 40 within months. This is what you call the network effect, a real benefit to being part of a community, coming to events with an open mind and staying curious – The Kingston BETA Effect.
What follows below is a short story from Chris Cochran, Executive Director of Entrepreneurs Across Borders and a co-founder at the Emerging Caribbean Seed Fund that demonstrates it.
When you look at this space, you could mistake it for a simple hotel lobby. What entrepreneurs see in Kingston, Jamaica is the center of the business world here. This is the default co-working, networking, meeting and collaboration space across the city.
While I was working here today preparing for Ingrid Riley’s Kingston Beta event tonight, a young man came up to me and said, “I don’t know if you remember me, but we met a few months ago in the latest Kingston Beta, my name is Earl.”
I remembered Earl. Earl (S) McDonalds, CEO of vlbpo a Business Process Organization here in Kingston. Earl was very open to coaching and we only talked for about 20 minutes.
I admitted that I remembered, and he continued, “Since we spoke, we’ve changed so much!” He indicated that our conversation was helpful in this next phase that they are in as an organization.
Sometimes entrepreneurs, especially those in emerging economies, just need a little bit of earned wisdom, encouragement and thoughtful conversation. Things get even more exciting when we give back and start opening up our network without any expectation of return.
If you want to help entrepreneurs like Earl, comment this with “I’m in” and I’ll get you more information on how you can play a role in changing the world, one entrepreneur at a time!”
This is a powerful reason why you join tech communities, share what you’re doing with others, because chances are you’ll meet someone who can give you the right information or connect you with someone who helps your business grow.
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