The worst time to start networking at Tech Week is when you arrive.
By then, everyone else is already looking at the schedule.
The useful relationships should start before the event.
Know who you want to meet
You don't need a list of 100 people.
Build a list of 10.
Maybe you want:
Three founders.
Two investors.
A potential partner.
Someone who understands your market.
Someone outside your industry.
Two community builders.
Someone who can introduce you into another city.
That's enough.
Now your week has a purpose.
Find the connectors first
This is where most conference research goes wrong.
People search for famous attendees.
Search for the people organising things.
The person behind the founder dinner.
The community operator.
The person running the meetup.
The investor hosting the breakfast.
The founder organising a private gathering.
The person who keeps appearing next to different groups.
These are the people who can open the network.
Build a reason to contact them
Don't send:
> “I'll be at Tech Week. Want to connect?”
Give them context.
> “I'm researching the people building the founder ecosystem around Tech Week and noticed you're hosting X. I'd love to understand what you're bringing together.”
That's a conversation.
You don't have to sell anything.
Then become useful
If you discover someone is looking for a specific introduction, see whether you can help.
If someone is visiting from another country, introduce them to someone local.
If someone is looking for a founder with a particular experience, find one.
This is how you enter a network.
Not by asking:
> “What can this person do for me?”
But:
> **“What could I do for this person?”**
The conference is the middle, not the beginning
The relationship should have three stages.
**Before:** identify people and create context.
**During:** meet and help.
**After:** continue the relationship.
That's much more powerful than arriving alone, collecting contacts and disappearing on Sunday.
> **Relationships compound when they start with generosity.**
> BNC helps founders create warm introductions and build high-trust peer networks before big industry moments.
> [Explore BNC Membership at businessnetworking.club](https://businessnetworking.club)
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**Jason Barrett**
Founder
Business Networking Club
Jason Barrett is the founder of Business Networking Club (BNC), the global network where people move forward faster, and GrowthStack, an organic social revenue consultancy. He has generated over $5.5 million in revenue through organic relationship-first systems for 400+ businesses and is a Lovie Awards judge. Connect with Jason and active founders at [businessnetworking.club](https://businessnetworking.club).
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Jason Barrett
Founder, Business Networking Club