There has been a lot of talk (read: man-crushing) in the blogosphere about an iOS application called Highlight. Highlight in the newest and hottest entry in the “Meet New People” space. I’m going to write about the entire market tomorrow and why it’s a three startup race so I won’t go into great detail with this post. But using Highlight for the first time this past week it was clear that it’s best use in Silicon Valley right now is to meet VCs.
Like many not-yet-funded* startups before it, the Valley’s money bags are alive and well on the much talked about app, trying to get a feel for the product and figure it out. Every good VC knows the best way to impress a founder is to use their product (thanks Fred Wilson) like crazy and show you really 'get it'.
As I drove by AOL in Palo Alto my phone started buzzing about SoftTech VC Partners
Jeff Clavier and Charles Hudson who were apparently in their office (first floor at AOL building). It didn’t stop there. Saar Gur, General Partner at Charles River Ventures was the third person that I was encouraged to meet. The fourth person I was introduced to was Adam Marchick who works in VC at Bain Capital. A few people after that it was Enrique Allen, the design lead and founding member of 500 Startups. These were all in my first 13 suggestions over the past 4-days, needless to say the right people are checking it out. Another three of the suggestions are people working at Facebook.
This is the best new way to meet a top tier VC right now. I’d suggest if you’re looking for funding then jump in the car and drive up and down Sand Hill Road and University Avenue tomorrow and wait for the pushes to come (make sure you're battery is charged). The best way to reach a Venture Capitalist is through an introduction so you may consider reaching out to the common friend it suggests for an intro. But if you’re feeling particularly brave might I suggest you send them a message and test the service out. If they are trying to invest in Highlight then they’d love a story to tell the founder about meeting someone great on the product. Maybe you’ll get lucky enough to catch them in a good mode and ready to talk.
I’d love to hear about any positive or negative experiences you have had using this app. Has anyone actually met anyone yet? Has the meeting really mattered? Time will tell if this becomes the defacto meet new people app. It is simple and polished but the jury is far from returning a verdict for crowning a winner in the space. They're on the right track though.
*This team is most likely now funded or closing the funding shortly.