“Hi, hey, what have you built?” Speed dating for startups is just as awkward as it sounds.
"Hey. So yah, we're here. What's going on?" The first date I eavesdropped on didn't sound like it was going very well. A few tables down, two young guys were running through the basics. "Where are you from?"
"San Fran."
"Oh amazing, me too!"
If you're not good at actual speed dating — and who is? — then you'll probably feel a bit awkward at Co-Founder Speed Dating, an event held every year at SXSW to help people find startup partners. This year it's in a Hilton conference room, which feels about right.
This is SXSW boiled down to concentrate: A few dozen people in a room, trading business cards and trying to figure out if anyone else might be able to help make them rich. It's like a real-life LinkedIn. In a way, it's refreshingly honest.
The rules are simple. To register, you've got to answer a few blunt questions: Do you already have an idea? If we let you in, will you definitely come? Can we have a link to you LinkedIn profile? Once you've been accepted, you take a seat. The clock starts. You've got three minutes with each person. Every rotation starts with a hearty handshake and ends with a hearty handshake.
As in regular speed dating, you're not really trying to get to know the people you're sitting across; you're just trying to see if you should talk to them again — or "follow up," in startup parlance. Still though, it seems like people spend a lot of time trying to figure out if the pairing even makes sense: Are you trying to find a partner, or join a company? Can you code? Have you ever started a company before? It's like showing up at speed dating and having to ask everyone you sit down with, "so wait, are you straight?"
