All of a sudden, virtual-first social platforms have taken the tech world by storm. I’m pointing to two in particular — Clubhouse and Lunchclub — but there’s many, many more under the surface.
Why?
Let’s start with the obvious, first. For over a year and a quarter, Covid has prevented people from going outside and meeting up, but it doesn’t take away from their innate desire to network and feel like they’re connected. While Houseparty was trending at the beginning of lockdown, people have moved on to more sophisticated platforms. The second, less obvious answer, is that people are in need of smarter networking platforms, even if they haven’t realized it yet.
How well do they work?
Depends what your objective is. Each of these platform has a particular purpose, which can sometimes be used in unintended ways. While the initial intent to be on Clubhouse was to have intellectual discussions with people within your micro-community, it’s grown into a platform where the initial intent is to firstly be invited to it! (and then decide what you want to do once you’re there).
Is there room for more?
Short answer is, yes. Smart networking means that you’re getting something meaningful out of your very first interaction. It means that the process is so seamless, that it doesn’t even feel like networking. It means that the objectives of both parties are clearly stated at the outset, so there’s no room for low-level, random conversation.
Is NeonVest doing anything different?
We believe the best way to describe these relationships is like that of a mentor-mentee relationship. One-on-one conversations with domain experts, who can add direct value to you based on your specific context. There is always someone who gives and someone who gets, on our platform. We make the matches using a number of inputs, because we know our users the best. Every single user gets a different experience — that’s the beauty of it.
What We Do.
For domain experts, NeonVest provides mentorship opportunities, curated dealflow, and co-investor networking opportunities. If you’re interested in becoming an Expert VC, sign up here.
For founders (or budding founders), NeonVest connects them to unique, relevant domain experts on a regular basis, to get useful advice, tangible feedback and connections to people that matter. If you’re interested, sign up here. No long-term commitments.
