People attend networking events for a lot of different reasons: to find new clients, to recruit new talent, to learn something, or even just for the drink tickets- but whatever your purpose is, if you attend events on a regular basis it’s easy to get caught in a rut by going to the same types of events every week. I’ve realized that some of the best and most rewarding events I’ve been to this year have been events aimed at startups, even though Perfect Search is not in startup mode anymore. Here are 5 unexpected benefits I’ve experienced while attending these events:

Don’t Work for a Startup? Here’s 5 Unexpected Benefits of Attending Startup Networking Events:

 

1.     Ideas, ideas, ideas

Whether it’s an idea for a revolutionary new app, a new way to approach recruiting, or just a cool business card, startup events are a hive of ideas. With technology changing by the minute it’s empowering to have the opportunity to learn about the newest companies during their inception. You might hear some far-fetched and crazy ideas, but you never know who could end up on the cover of Fast Company in the next few years! Beyond the ideas for businesses, you’ll encounter changing ideas about business. When you have a group of innovative people all trying to solve the common obstacles of starting and running a company the results are going to include eye-opening new approaches. Even if you work for a decades-old, family-owned brick-and-mortar you’ll find inspiration to challenge the status quo just a bit and perhaps shake things up at your current workplace. This point brings me to…

 

 2.     You’ll become a student and a mentor

For every new idea, startup owners usually have a bevy of issues and problems to work through. Depending on your experience you might have just the right advice or anecdote to help. If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Seriously, just hire an accountant. You’ll thank yourself in tax season,” I’d have to hire my own accountant to count all those dollars. These conversations could inspire you to become an official business mentor, like our CEO Ajay Pattani who volunteers monthly at 1871, a startup incubator in Chicago. Ajay enjoys mentoring because, “having the opportunity to be a part of the success of others is exciting and fulfilling.”

 

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