It isn't Luck: How to Build a Network in Madison as a Founder

Ask a founder how they met their best collaborator, their first hire, or their first customer, and you'll usually hear the same word: luck.

Right place, right time, friend of a friend. It makes a nice story. It also makes networking sound like something that happens to you, which is a convenient belief if you'd rather not have coffee with strangers.

This week, Susie Younkle (Madworks program director) invited Scott Forester and Dan Fogarty to Madworks to talk about how they approach networking. Both are transplants to the Madison area, which means both had to build their networks here from scratch. I'd argue that makes their advice even more useful for the locals in the room. Those of us who've been here a while tend to assume we already know everybody, right up until we need someone we don't.

Here's what they shared, and where I pushed back.

Take your coffee chats on tour

Dan's first recommendation: schedule coffee chats around town, and switch up your meeting spots. Hunt for the novel places and the hidden gems. (He gave a shoutout to Lakeside Coffee House, which is one of my favorite coffee spots as well.)

It sounds like a small thing, but think about what the default looks like. Same coffee shop, same table, same "So, what are you working on?" A new spot gives you and your new contact something to talk about before the business talk even starts. It also turns every meeting into a little field research on the city you're building a company in, which is a perk if you're new here and a reality check if you're not.

The bonus: when someone remembers "the coffee place we went to," they're also remembering you.

Follow up right away

Scott's advice: follow up with new connections immediately. Thank them, and use the message to ground both of you in the circumstances that allowed you to meet.

No surprise here, Scott followed up after his talk!

I love this one because it's practical and teachable. A thank-you that names the specific moment (the event, the conversation, the thing you both laughed at) does two jobs at once. It tells the other person you were paying attention, and it gives them an easy way to reply. Wait a week and you're just one more name in a very full inbox.

Your future self will thank you.

Serendipity or design?

This is where I pushed back. Scott mentioned that it was serendipity that some of the first hires at Recovery.com came from StartingBlock. I get the instinct, because quietly intentional design should feel seredipitous. I'm curious, though, whether "serendipity" is the right word.

I'd call it good design. When you work in a community-driven coworking space, you share a kitchen, a calendar of events, and a hallway with people who are building things. Meeting people worth meeting is the inevitable outcome of that setup. Nobody had to get lucky, the setting was designed for it.

By the way, classrooms are designed in a similar fashion. Everything is intentional, and designed to foster community and collaboration.

Come see how the room works

So, back to luck. Take Dan's coffee tour, send Scott's thank-you note, and you'll be well ahead of most people in Madison. If you'd also like to spend your days somewhere that makes introductions a daily occurrence, that's what we've built at StartingBlock.

The best way to find out is to see it. Book a tour or come to an event (open to the public). And if you need a meeting spot afterward, I hear Lakeside is worth a visit.