Vancouver Grow2010 – Amazing

Two weeks ago, I attended the inaugural Vancouver GROW2010 Conference and to say it was anything but unforgettable and paradigm shifting would be an understatement. In this entry, join me for a quick jaunt through the learning’s and highlights of GROW2010.

The People – They were world class. Both Entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists united to share what it takes to get to the next level… There was very little self-promotion and much more open dialogue. The majority were Silicon Valley Veterans… enough said.

The Power of Values in your business – Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos spoke to how important establishing core-values is and that those values should be recognized and rewarded separately from job performance. Core values create a “flock of birds” effect, where all members of an organization move together by instinct and habit, not by command and direction.  Zappos was recently sold to Amazon for north of US$1 billion… He is on to something.

The Cultural Understanding – The culture and energy was spot on. VC’s with millions in investable capital wearing t-shirts and hoody’s, both founders and financiers speaking with such passion about the industry and their opportunities, and the use of four letter words… both on stage and off… its just part of the culture… Our culture.

How to get a VC’s attention – Triangulate them… In other words, work your network and find two or three connections that know and will recommend you to the VC. Common connections on multiple fronts says way more than your business plan ever will.

Now, in an effort to keep this short I will end here. Truth be told, there was so much more that came out of the conference… My recommendation is that you attend next year… See you there.