Networking - a good investment

The networking options

A recent event gave a great introduction to the networking options available in South Africa, as six different founder networks* pitched their different models. This note from Innovation City gives a good summary of the event. My main takeout is these are excellent businesses - high margin, no capex, no working capital, scale benefits...

Alternatives

On the one side, many of the services they offer can be gained elsewhere. If you are lonely try a co-working space; if you need accountability, challenge, or to gain perspective one might use a coach or an independent board director; if you need knowledge one can take a course or find a mentor; if you need friendship, to share the burden or support, one can take on a business partner; if you need to find people LinkedIn is free.

Unique insights

On the others side, a recent connection was raving about their membership of YPO. One of my business partners is a member of WPO and she gets incredible value from it. A well curated network creates cross learning opportunities, as diverse founders, from different businesses, share similar problems. A business network also gives a sense of community which is really valuable.

Cheap at the price

Another way of thinking about this investment is the cost of failure - a friend was talking about burnout and the pressure of trying to succeed on their own. In this context, a couple of thousand rand a month seems like a cheap price. It is really hard starting and running a small business. So, this shouldn't be an either-or debate but about utilising all the tools available to help you. How can you maximise the probability of success?

Organisations*

George Eadie from Civitas Network; Gaynor MacArthur from Entrepreneurs'​ Organization; Renier Kriel from The Founders Collab, Fred Roed from Heavy Chef (Pty) Ltd, Nic Latouf from The Lekker Network and Jono More from OPUS