M.R. Rangaswami talks about the Power of Networks
In this Change Alchemist episode M.R. Rangaswami provides insights on:
- The power of networks
- How to build a powerful network
- The difference between networks and networking
Shobhana: Can you tell us about your journey?
M.R: I was an accidental Indian who came to Silicon Valley in 1982. I had a comfortable job in Houston, Texas working in a manufacturing company. When I met with a consultant there who looked at my background and said, you should be in Silicon Valley. Who was, one of those prophetic, recommendations he made, which got me to look into what Silicon Valley was all about.
In 1982, there was no LinkedIn, no Facebook, none of this stuff. How do you even find out information about Silicon Valley? So I went about the old fashioned way of going to a library to look at old newspapers from the Bay area, San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News, which finally led me to sending some resumes to a company in the Bay area.
And one of them was crazy enough to hire me, which is what brought me to Silicon Valley in 1982.
Shobhana: Tell us a little bit about how Silicon Valley was back then and, your early experiences.
M.R: Like I said, I was an accidental Indian and I met that really, because there was hardly any Indians there, maybe a few thousand Indians at best.
Shobhana: Fast forward 38 years, we’re in 2020. And, this has been an interesting year for most of us. One thing that’s been a saving grace is all the social networks.We have LinkedIn, Facebook, we have a plethora of social networks. and I thought, for this podcast we could focus on sort of the power of networks. Tell us the difference between networks and networking.
M.R: So let me kind of take you back to a story that was real life for me.
I had left corporate life in 1996 when. My secretary at my old company had given me all the business cards I had. And, and, and, and I was going through that. There were four binders and there were a thousand cards in each binder and I’m like, I’ve got 4,000 business cards, you know, maybe I should have thought of LinkedIn at that time, but this was way before like that.
So, Really what happened at that time was I wanted to see how I could keep in touch with these 4,000 people. And there was no technology at that time in 1996. So what I was talking to friends and they said, why don’t you have a party? And invite all these people, but I said, no, one’s going to just come to a party.
And that’s why I started up Conferences, which was the excuse for people to get together. And that’s how I got started, , initially, and to just explain the difference between networking and network networking is I think in a sense.
Very much individualistic, very much with your agenda in mind. whereas a network is something someone creates with greater purpose. , so let me give you an example of the first network I started and you’d get a better feed for what I mean. , so I started this group of hundred CEOs and leaders in the B2B technology software ecosystem.
So it’s all the B2B CEOs, right? And this was a network I started in 1998, , when we had our first retreat of a hundred people, including CEOs of SAP and all the other big companies that are in that space. Right. So miss that network and how is that different from networking? So this network had purpose.
Right? And so the purpose there was, we are going to give back to people who are less privileged and to projects that would get us connected and make us more inclusive.
It also made everyone aware. They all had to pay money. So there was value to the conference. So everybody had to pay $6,000, including keynotes, which was completely a different business model than anyone had witnessed. So not only had people. had to paint a come and speak and pay to attend, but all the profits, the entire profits went to nonprofits and we brought the CEOs of these nonprofits to be part of this retreat so that they could be mentored.
They could learn, they could grow, they could get advisory board members, additional funding and so on and so forth. So. That was the purpose of this network. So you see what the greater purpose was, what the cause was. It was not on the people attending, but it was on problems and issues and everybody gathered together to support.
Shobhana: Okay. , that’s wonderful. , , do you feel like what, you know is more important who you know, or what you know?
M.R: I think your network is important, but again, you know, if you’re using it for selfish reasons, then it loses its meaning. Right? So really, if you have a network, I always think how can I utilize the network? how can I leverage the network for greater good and not for my own edification and, and to make money for myself or companies I work with and so on and so forth. What can we do with this network for greater good?
Shobhana; Would you be able to provide any books that have influenced you and your philosophy of, what you just mentioned,?
M.R: One is the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. that’s really he thousand pages long, but it left a big impression on me with an individual who could use you methods to gain impact, to make an impact, to also admit a lot of things he had done wrong.
And then one, the other one is the Sherlock Holmes book. Yes. That itAnd again, a lot of times Sherlock Holmes was wrong and what he does you know, is that it instills a curiosity in you. I think finding out more than you know.
Shobhana: I think that’s a fascinating choice of books and Geoffrey Moore is on my podcast. And to your point, his book has been around for 25 years, the examples have changed, but the framework is still valid. I have not read the Autobiography of Gandhi. I think I should go and read that.Absolutely well worth doing. Now you had mentioned that you do some work with startups and fund startups. How have your networks helped your other, the other facets of your life? Like, venture funding, for example?
MR: Yeah, one of the things I did first before I created all these networks was when I left corporate life in 96, I became an angel investor before the term was coined. And, initially I used to not only invest in companies, but also help them because I had a lot more time at that point. But now I’ve become a little bit more passive.
And investing in deals. I still am active in a few deals, very limited number, but most of them I’m pretty passive and I’ve done over a hundred deals in the past 20 years. So I do about five a year. It’s not that many deals, but I do end up with at least one or two entrepreneurs every week.
These days it’s by zoom, but in the old days it was coffee or a lunch or dinner. , and so I met a couple or more than a couple of thousand entrepreneurs 1:1 over this time. And what has helped me there is some kind of pattern recognition that I think has been somewhat helpful, although I can look back at all my deals and the ones I thought that were going to do really well have failed.
And once I didn’t think that highly off of succeeded, so I don’t think. I can take any of that. more than saying it was lucky, , that I did well on some of the deals over half my deals have been wiped out, so forth. So I think the whole angel investing thing is fun to do. I’m passionate about it, but it’s not something that, , anyone can get really good at unless they have a lots of money.
Shobhana: What’s your favorite quote?
M.R: And my only quote is the one I follow is the Nike slogan: Just do it. We can always think of when is it going to be the right time or how can I make a change happen? The only way it happens is you do it. I think that’s a, that’s great now. we have a lot of listeners who are actually starting out.
Resources:
Twitter: @mrsandhill
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mr-rangaswami-b5a08762/
http://www.sandhill.com
http://www.ecoforum.com
http://www.indiaspora.org
