Hi, I’m David G. Cohen.

I know many people. Because of this, I’m frequently asked for introductions by entrepreneurs that I meet. Usually they want me to introduce them to a person or company that is very well known and in large demand that the person thinks can meaningfully help their business. Of course I want to help.

I always ask the targeted person if they want the introduction, vs introducing them blindly. Most people say that they’re happy to try to help a fellow entrepreneur.

Lately, I’ve noticed a very clear pattern. When I introduce two people, the person who wanted the introduction seems to always want to make big asks. Too many people start with “can we set up a 30 minute call?” Now, I know that many readers will say “huh? That’s a small ask.”. No, it’s quite big for very busy people. Remember that time is often the most precious commodity.

A small ask is better. Remember that you’re being introduced to someone who you know is getting this type of request all the time, but has offered to help. Just ask for one thing, and ask for it in the form of a response by email. If you have 3 questions, ask them by email instead of forcing the person to get on the phone with you real time.

I realize that you are hoping to build a relationship, which is why you want to jump on the phone with your newly introduced connection. But take it slow, make small asks, and build a relationship over time.

Here’s how big an ask is for very busy people:

Tiny = email response, 1 or 2 simple questions in a short email
Small = email response, 3-5 questions in a longer email
Medium = 15 minute phone call
Large = 30 minute phone call
Huge = In person meeting

Start small. Build to huge over time. I’ve seen this work very effectively, and I’ve seen large/huge asks quickly end potential relationships.

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This aired today on KRON 4 TV in San Francisco. Brad Feld and I did the interview earlier this week as part of the Do More Faster twelve city book tour.

This week, we’re in Boulder, Denver, and Boston. The week after, we’re in NYC, DC, and Chicago. Follow along and come visit!

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A few weeks ago I spoke to a middle school class about entrepreneurship and investing and I learned a bunch of stuff and got some awesome comments from those students. Thursday, I went back to work with a few of the students on their specific business ideas that they were doing.

First off, kudos to the school and to the teacher (Mr Feiger) for being awesome. I’m a huge fan of experiential learning and I think what they’re doing is very innovative. They’ve got these kids taking micro-loans and building real businesses. And it’s clearly working – you can tell that many of them are incredibly interested and engaged with their projects.

I met with several groups, and there were two common threads that I noticed and wanted to point out.

First and foremost, the one piece of advice that I seemed to constantly provide to these students was to make sure they understood their market. There were a surprising number of “cart before the horse” questions that they asked me. Examples were “how should I price the product?” and “What tactics should I use to market or sell the product?” and “Should I have a blog or use social media to promote the product?” I continually answered “Who is your customer?” – “What will they pay?” – “Do they read blogs?”. The lesson from middle school – know your customer.

The second thing was that the students with the more interesting businesses were the ones who increased the value of the core product they were selling by focusing on branding, marketing, and perception. Everyone had a reasonable product, but some just weren’t differentiated enough. There was no reason for me to buy their thing vs some other thing that was similar. Many of the products were simple things such as cupcakes and bookmarks. One student amazed me with her very advanced thinking and exploration around how to make a bookmark not just a bookmark. She was including other value added services with the bookmark, and was branding it heavily. Part of the branding was tying it in with a strongly related charity in order to increase the perception of value and differentiation. The lesson from middle school – people buy because of how a product makes them feel as much as for what it does for them.

These kids continue to blow me away. I literally cannot wait to go back and do more of this. Mr. Feiger should get a serious raise. But since we all know that’s not likely, maybe he should get some equity participation in the future of his students. I have a feeling that will be worth more.

I can tell that he is quite literally making future entrepreneurs simply by exposing them to the joys of entrepreneurship early in life. I am truly honored to help people like Mr Feiger and these students accomplish this.

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