Hey guys! This is Steli Efti, with Close.io.
I am still in Europe traveling, visiting startups. But I wanted to make this quick video, because
yesterday somebody at a start-up event that I gave a talk, asked me, how I first showed
up in Silicon Valley with having no contacts, knowing nobody and nothing about the industry.
How I got my start? In the Valley and how I got my start in the US coming from Europe?
And it’s a perfect story that I actually never shared on video publicly that I thought
would illustrate my showing up philosophy as the very first foundational step to the
hustle. So if you have ever heard me speak before you know that I truly believe in the
start-up hustle and the entrepreneurial power that the hustle gives you and the formula
to succeed in crushing it in the hustle is simple to me: you have to show up, you have
to follow up and follow through, you have to go for the close; it’s as simple as that.
Now, showing up in my world is only 20% of winning 80% is really in the follow up and
follow through. But showing up is actually the foundation to winning, if you don’t
show up there is nobody you could ever follow up with or follow through with and there is
nobody to close. So you have to show up. It’s the foundation that you can build your hustling
success on. Now let me tell you the story of me showing
up in Silicon Valley, because I think it illustrates brilliantly how you can create opportunities
by going where nobody wants to go and doing things that are slightly uncomfortable to
you at first. So it’s 2007 you know, almost eight years
ago, I sold everything I had and buy a one way ticket to San Francisco, from Europe and
I arrived at SFO –San Francisco Airport and I know nobody and nothing about the industry.
I am as non-technical as you can be and I am there to become a tech entrepreneur and
to build a massive success in Silicon Valley. At the airport I actually stop somebody and
asked them: “hey! Can you help me can you tell me how to get to Silicon Valley?”
Now, for people who know a little about the Valley they know it’s an area described
– it’s not a city or something like that, it’s like asking you know, how can I get
to the south of France, right? So the person looked at me and went [makes
expression with face] “Ah Silicon Valley ah do you mean Palo Alto Stanford?”
And I went, “Stanford [claps fingers] I know that, I recognise that name YES! Tell
me how to get there.” So here is what happens next, that friendly
person puts me on the Caltrain down south to ah Palo Alto. Now, there is two stops in
Palo Alto, ah when you take the Caltrain from SFO airport. One is on California Avenue and
the other one is on University Avenue. If you have never been there you know that University
Avenue is where you want to be, it’s right where downtown Palo Alto is. California avenue
not so much, but California avenue came before University avenue. It had California in its
name... so it appeared to be the right stop for me to get off the train. And that’s
what I did I really went off the train at California Avenue and started walking down
California Avenue and eventually I see this hotel on one corner that says, Hotel California.
And I go, that must be a sign right, I listened to the song I recognize that name.
California is where I want to be I am going to check in.
Here is what happen next I check in, it’s about 3PM. You know I take a shower I put
out all my stuff, I set up my you know, office in this new hotel. Exciting you know, finally
I am in the US a new adventure is going to or is about to start for me.
And now there is this little voice in my head, it’s what I call the little asshole voice.
And it tells me: “You know what, Steli? Take it easy today. It’s your first day
in the US, you might have a jet lag... why don’t you just like relax, maybe watch a
movie, answer some emails, just rest and then tomorrow you can figure out how to get started
on your adventure in the US and in the Valley.” And then thankfully there was another voice
that told that asshole voice to shut the fuck up! and said:”You know what this is crazy!
It’s your first day in the US you are not going to just sit around in a shitty hotel
room! You are not just going to just sit around in a small room by yourself watching a movie,
this is crazy! Go out there and meet people and do shit!”
And that’s what I did I went online and I went to meetup.com and I try to see if there
is any kind of events or place I could go to meet people and make new friends.
Finally, I see a thing called a Geek Dinner in San Francisco and I am like that’s awesome
lets go to San Francisco. Geek dinner sounds about right, let’s make some geek friends.
That sounds about right, right? I take the train, first I took it in the wrong
direction from Palo Alto down to San Jose, and then I had to take a new train up into
the city into San Francisco. Finally, I make it to the dinner I sit down I talk to a bunch
of people and eventually I sit down next to Robert Scoble.
And Robert Scoble is a big famous blogger, really influential in Silicon Valley, eventually
he turned around and he asked me what I do there?
And I tell him, you know what this is my first day in the US I sold everything I have, I
bought a one way ticket, I want to be an entrepreneur here, I know nothing or no one in this industry,
I am so excited, right? And he tells me: “You know what? This is
such a cool story, give me a call tomorrow, let’s chat.”
He leaves. The next day I am in my hotel room, I have his number, I am like, I am going to
call Robert Scoble, and I am all nervous, I pick up the phone and I call him; he picks
up and he is like: “Yeah this is Robert.” I am like: “Hey Robert, this is Steli from
last night at the Geek Dinner, the guy that doesn’t know anyone or anything and yeah
I just wanted to give you a call.” He is like: “What’s the hotel you are
staying at?” I am like: “Hotel California!”
He is like: “Cool I know that that’s ten minutes away from me I am going to pick you
up in ten minutes.” I hang up. I go out there and I am nervous,
I don’t even know what’s going to happen next. He picks me up and we go to a coffee
shop, we sit down and before we were able to sip on our cappuccinos he is like “Wooo
wooo wooo!!! Wait a second!” He goes back to his car and brings out this
massive camera equipment, sets up the camera and goes: “Well, let me do an interview
with you.” Hits record and goes: “Who are you and what
do you do here?” What happens after that, is an hour long interview
with Robert Scoble of my very first, second day in Silicon Valley.
You can actually, if you search for that interview you can find it –it’s not easy to find
on the web, thankfully, but you can find it; the most humbling interview of my life. Sixty
minutes when I first watched it, it took me six hours to actually watch the video.
Do you know these situations when you watch something and you feel so ashamed that you
have to pause or stop or you can’t look at it?
That’s how I felt when I started watching that video. I looked like a fucking idiot.
And so I hit play and I was watching and watching and pause, play and pause. You know I didn’t
particularly find myself charming, charismatic or even slightly intelligent, my English was
horrible, I hate that video, but I watch it once a year just to humble myself.
Besides that the interview is over, Robert is super nice to me and he asked me: “Hey,
what’s your plan for the rest of the day?” And I go: “Dude, I don’t have a plan for
the rest of the year! Like, I really don’t know what I am doing next.”
So he’s like: “Well, I am speaking at this event it’s called SF New Tech it’s
a meet up; do you want to come with me?” I am like: “Sure!”
So we go to the city, we go to SF New Tech, and there is like four speakers one of them
is Robert Scoble, big audience three hundred, four hundred people and at the end of the
event they have a thing called twenty second soapbox, where almost anybody could pick up
the mic in the audience and pitch the audience on something. Like “Hey I need an investor,
I am doing the start-up, who wants to invest in my company?” or “Hey we are looking
for developers, if you want to try to get a new job…”
Like anybody could just pitch the audience for twenty seconds on something.
Again I had some little ass hole voice that went: “Wow! This is so exciting I am at
this event... but I don’t have anything to pitch. And my English is really bad, and
let’s not push, let’s not push life too much, right? You went out to this Geek Dinner,
you met Robert Scoble you are at this event, everything is going smoothly. Let’s not
fuck it up, let’s not do something too crazy.” And then thankfully I have this other voice
that said: “Shut the fuck up dude!! Do something pick up the mic, say hi! Say you need friends!
I am like, that sounds like a cool idea. So I stand up, I stand in line, I pick up
the mic and I addressed the audience, and I tell them: “Listen guys this is my second
day in the US. I just bought a one way ticket and came here. I don’t know anyone or anything
about this industry. I want to build a massive tech startup, but more importantly what I
need most right now are friends. If you guys need a friend, a Greek friend from Europe,
that grew up in Germany, come and say hi.” And here is what happened next...
At the end of the event there were the four speakers surrounded by crowds that wanted
to talk to them, and me surrounded by the biggest crowd of people that wanted to talk
to me. Out of the four hundred people, I think two
hundred came to give me their business cards, there were people waiting for ten minutes
with their copy because I was so crowded with people. And they just went: “Steli, Steli,
here is my card, give me a call!” For the next four weeks all I did all day
long was get in touch with all these amazing people that wanted to be friendly and friends
with me and show me around and help me, you know, get my start in Silicon Valley and get
my start in the US. And that’s what I did, that’s how I made
some of the most amazing friendships and 8 years later I still have.
People helped me in incredible ways and all it took from me is to SHOW UP!! Just SHOW
UP!! I showed up in the US, I showed up in Silicon Valley in my hotel room, I showed
up in the US, I showed up at the Geek Dinner, I showed up at the interview and then I showed
up at the event and picked up the mic and said hello, and that was an incredible start
in my journey in Silicon Valley and in the US.
And all it took was the guts to show up. And whenever I had this voice that told me:
“Hey dude, slow down, take it easy, take a break, don’t push it too far, stay home,
stay at the hotel room, don’t speak up you don’t have anything smart to say.”
Any time I had that fear, that shame I told myself to shut the fuck up and do it anyways.
Did I always look smart and sophisticated? Did I look like somebody who knows what he
is doing? No I didn’t! Because I didn’t, right?
But it doesn’t fucking matter, it was an incredible start in my journey and the only
difference between that start, and sitting lonely, alone and clueless in a hotel room
was a voice and myself telling myself basically to shut the fuck up! To get up and to show
up because that’s what life is all about at the end of the day.