The Value of Networking
Recently, I used Eventbrite to find “Stockhub” a pitch night happening at imperial college. It cost £10, I didn’t know what I was expecting. So far I have profited £2,000 from this meeting.
Meeting with people and having long-term relationships is key. The people around you are the people you will ask, when you need a key piece of advice or something you don't have yet.
All it costs is time and energy. Having something to focus on is helpful but when I started, I was simply curious.
All it cost was £10 and the travel. I asked 7 different students from uni to come with me. I went alone.
This connected me to two firms that have given me internships this summer.
I found a wealth of experienced entrepreneurs pitching their start-ups. They all had great ideas, a unique technology and a teams behind them.
As I looked around I realised the most interesting people in the room were the people pitching. Drinks at the end lead me to speak with Scott Gillham and Mike, from PF Nexus. Six months later that lead to a paid internship for me.
Spot Ship is the company I am working with now. James Kellett and Mike O’Gorman have been showing me the ropes. The smart tech solution that Spot Ship offers is both clever and getting better. Designed by brokers for brokers. Building custom features for key clients. Their solution offers an AI to collect data on ship positions and present it well, live. This saves so much time, live data can be presented in meetings on the fly from a phone.
In 2017, Tim Jones told me about networking. I interned at his firm while I was at school. He opened my eyes to the value of knowing the right people. Also that you have to go and get it. This was the first exposure I had to the concept of the professional environment and networking. He let me sit in on meetings he had with the lead bank they worked with. At the end, Tim turned to me and said “the only reason he just agreed to that is because of trust”.
The main point
The value of networking is the people that you met sometime need help. As a student, this is a great place to be. The people around you have a massive impact. Being around the right people is key.
There are a few relationships I have made over the last year or two that are only now showing fruit. These recent events have been a message, reminding me of the value of networking.