So, how do you become part of the Silicon Valley in-crowd?
First, there really is no such clique and if there is, it is incredibly transient.
Second, Silicon Valley is not an oligarchy, but rather a meritocracy!
And third, if you are smart, capable, intelligent, driven and socially not totally awkward, you can be part of the SV “in-crowd”.

Now, if you think you can email John Doerr, Paul Graham or Larry and get a meeting, think again. It is the equivalent of going to DC and trying to meet with Barack – it ain’t going to happen!
This post is about introductions to important people, but not the “Dignitaries of SV” .

Let’s get to it, how are you going to get quality introductions in silicon valley and become part of the in-crowd? Let’s assume you are planning to visit SV to meet with people for ideas/partnerships/funding/etc.

1. FIND 10 people you want to meet

• why do you want to meet this person?
• what do you want to convey/get/accomplish?
• why would this person want to meet with you?

Most people do not put enough work in this list. e.g. if you think you want to meet @ev or @biz from twitter b/c you have a location based twitter/[random api] mashup, you did not do your homework. Twitter recently bought GeoAPI, so guess what, those guys are a much better fit for you. I can not stress this enough: DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST!

2. FOLLOW them on twitter, FF, Plancast, Buzz or anywhere else you can (avoid facebook & linkedin for now, most people do not accept random followers there and it looks a bit desperate IMHO).

3. ENGAGE them on their favorite platform. RT their post, comment on buzz conversations, @reply on twitter, comment on blog posts. You know, the general “nice-stuff” one can do online.  Paul Graham once told me that he checks comments on HackerNews for people applying to YCombinator.

4. ADDRESS  them directly. This is a subtle addition to “3. Engage”. Now you actually are starting to have some kind of conversation.  e.g. I recently had someone email me about broken links on my site – that was helpful – we started to talk. Nothing big just a “snippet-conversation” that can be built on later. Obviously better if you have something meaningful to say.

4b. (extra credit) DO something for them. e.g. if you want to get Dave McClure’s attention, do something forstartupvisa (his current pet project).

5. CONTACT them for a specific purpose. Write a good introduction email.

• everybody is busy! give them at least a few weeks advanced notice
• once they agree to meet you: offer a few dates/time/locations
• check their public calendars (e.g. plancast.com) to see where they are

So, you got this far – looks like you enjoy my post. Click here to

A few more random thoughts:

• try to meet important people early in the morning (a lot less likely to get canceled)
• try not to have lunch meeting – if you do, don’t eat (even if you are starving, smart to actually eat beforehand) who can eat, talk and listen at the same time?

• ask if they can think of anyone you should be meeting with
• confirm every meeting a day prior
• be on time. And by the way SF to Mountain View is not a 45 minute ride, it can be well over an hour
• leave room in your schedule. People will likely introduce you to others if they like you/your product or idea
• go to a few tech meetups while you are here
• check the startup digest for mixers
• consider contacting the venturehacks powerbrokers (they love to intro good people)

If you plan your trip well, you will feel like you are part of the in-crowd, I promise. If not, you did not do your homework and find the right people to meet. So start with your “dream list” of people to meet. And keep in mind: you are not asking for favors: Everyone is always looking for great people!

• soon-to-be founders look for co-founders
• founders look for good people to hire (and co-founders)
• journalists look for good stories
• angel investors look for the next big thing and potential advisory board seats
• VCs look for fast growing companies and merger/acquisition/partnership opportunities
• anyone is looking for good tech-geek conversation

If you want a meeting with me, start by (3) follow me (4)engage me, or (heck, I am not that important) just  send me a message @thomask or email (thomask AT Gmail).

Good luck! p.s. If you like this post, subscribe to my email list or rss feed via feedburner.I publish about 2 posts like this per month. Was this useful? please retweet it. Thanks!

Here is the “cold-email” (as in cold-call) format that I find most useful when being approached. I use this format myself if I can’t get an introduction. The example in italics is an imaginary email.

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2008 Silicon Valley Angel Investors

Moderator: Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
Panelists: Andy Bechtolsheim, Co-Founder and Chief Architect and Sr. VP, Network Systems, Sun Microsystems; Google’s first investor Ron Conway, Independent Angel Investor, former Founder & Managing Partner of Angel Investors LP Dr. Ian Sobieski, Managing Director, Band of Angels Fund

Link