Recently, I got a call from a frustrated university professor who is a friend of mine.  He had just met with a very nice and smart group of entrepreneurs from his college.  They had gotten together, and spent a fair bit of their own money to develop a piece of technology.   The technology worked, very elegantly at that.  Problem was, they had no idea who, or why someone, would use the technology.  And, they wanted to raise capital so that they could figure that out.  They were mystified why, having taken the risk to develop a product on their own nickel, investors weren’t clamoring to invest in their company. As my pal sighed on the phone, it struck me that this is a pattern I see pretty often in entrepreneurs.

The challenges surrounding DC-area entrepreneur networking continues, but there has been some good progress in the past few months.

It sure seems like many folks in the area are feeling the pain -- the continued lack of networking in the DC area for up-and-coming entrepreneurs.  But it is not all gloom and doom.  Sometimes we just have to get out there and network to find help.  With that in mind, there are some people and organizations trying to do something about it, too.  Maybe it's worth sketching out some of the best programs that I have found out there (though I am sure I'll miss some).

The media link is a given. After all, what is politics without an audience?

People running for political office depend primarily on various forms of media to draw attention to their candidacy, sign up volunteers, poll opinions, solicit requests for funding, solidify their base and sway the undecided to (a) vote, and (b) vote for them or their cause.

Just as entrepreneurs with a new idea or product must break through the clutter of the massive numbers of messages everyone sees, reads or hears daily, drawing attention to your candidacy is an uphill battle for those new to politics who want to enter into public life and serve their region’s constituents.

The Theory:  There are several marketing industry gurus who champion the approach of marketing to ‘influencers’ to build a brand or ignite an idea through social marketing or business networking. The premise is that some individuals in our society have more power than others. This we can all agree on. And, yes, there are those with strong networks who are activists in one way or another (e.g., in the community, in business, politically, socially). Opinion leaders, another way to refer to them, are generally respected by the people in their network and often emulated. Among those championing the influencers are Malcolm Gladwell, the well-known author of The Tipping Point, Blink and other widely read books about business and society, and Ed Keller and Jon Berry, who co-authored the best-selling book, The Influentials.

First, it doesn’t matter how you feel about Sen. Clinton, you have to agree that she has persistence and tenacity. While the majority of pundits wrote Sen. Clinton off months ago, she is blocking, tackling, and clawing her way to the finish line. I would argue that the most important characteristic of a successful entrepreneur is persistence and stamina. And after 18 months in this campaign, she has outlasted quite a few other candidates – and she still wakes up every day acting like a winner.