It's Not What You Know, but Who You Know

Again and again, you see people with less experience and less knowledge than you get the job that you want. You say to yourself, “What do they have that I don’t?”.  Often, this question can be answered with the adage, it’s not what you know but who you know.

Although in many areas a certain expertise is required, such as law, computer programming or accounting, those who get ahead and who are successful are often successful not because of their knowledge but because of their network. As discussed in a previous article (“Where Do You Source Your Start-Up Ideas From?”), you can source your new venture ideas from your professional experience, educational background, and experience as a consumer. What happens when you’re not the kind of person who constantly comes up with new ideas? How do you find new entrepreneurial opportunities when you love to be involved in new and exciting ventures and you have relevant business, technology or law skills to contribute?

The answer lies largely in positioning yourself in a social network where you will have constant access to new entrepreneurial opportunities. In this way, although you may not come up with the ideas, you will be the first to offer your relevant experience to help build the company. Recent literature suggests that the most effective way to position yourself in this manner is to find yourself a few super-connectors who in turn give you access to a diverse set of large groups of individuals. Specifically, a super-connector is someone who has a large and diverse network and whose advantage lies in the brokerage of information between groups that would otherwise not communicate. For instance, relationship counselors and computer programmers do not tend to associate with one another, as a rule, but if there is an information broker, or super-connector between them, they may get to talking and start the next eHarmony.

To use more technical terminology from recent research on social networking, the positions that super-connectors occupy are called structural holes within a social network. The theory goes that just as inefficient financial markets there are arbitrage opportunities, there are entrepreneurial opportunities present within structure holes were the flow of information is inefficient or non-existent. At first, you would want to start by knowing the super-connectors who can connect you with a diverse set of contacts. Ideally, though, you would want to ultimately be the super-connector, or information broker yourself, as you are not only one step closer to the information being exchanged but you can exchange the information on your terms. To go back to our dating site example, if you are the computer programmer, you can simply be introduced to the relationship counselor and hope that they need a technical partner in their venture. However, if you are the super-connector, even if you do not have a relevant skill to offer, such as programming, you still have your network to offer so you are still somehow involved in the venture.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, you need to maximize your social network position in order to capitalize on your intellectual capital, whether you are someone who comes up with the ideas that turn into great businesses or the person that lends a specific skill-set to help turn out those great businesses. If you are the idea generator, you cannot possibly do everything yourself and will therefore need to find the right people to help build your company. If you are the builder, you need to be the first to know about new opportunities. Even fledgling companies as a whole need to find their super-connectors. Facebook hired Sean Parker, the founder of Napster and Plaxo, as its president in 2004 not for his technical knowledge or even business knowledge, but essentially because he knew the right people in Silicon Valley to introduce them to. A few introductions and $500,000 later Facebook took off and never looked back.

The best way to improve your social network position is to diversify your social network through both super-connectors with connections in a myriad of fields while at the same time becoming your own information broker. As a first step, try filling out the attached spreadsheet. Look at column D and see who has introduced you to the most contacts. Chances are that’s your super-connector. If you don’t have one, go out and find one now!