Angel Maria Herrera couldn’t be missing from my Born Networkers section. I have been following him for a little over 5 years, since before he launched Iniciador together with Lucas Rodriguez and Javier Martin.
Networking with fine handwriting, not only because of his love of books, from when he launched grupo buho all the way to Bubok, but because he has run a long-distance race in building his network of contacts, and has created and grown his 5 companies thanks, among other things, to the good networking he has practised.
Without going any further, this is his view in his post from July 2008 on the importance of networking:
” The other day Agustín Vivancos wrote a very interesting post on The value of contacts. What is a pity is that not everyone is clear about how important it is to make contacts and to go to networking events. Here is my experience:
- Through Iniciador I met the people at Secuoyas, now investors in Bubok.
- At Iniciador I also met Rubén Calvo and David Quirant, with whom we set up Medios y Redes.
- At Thursday, for example, I met Antonio González Barros, also an investor in Bubok, but in general an endless list of good contacts with whom we have done all sorts of things.
- At Tuesday, Carlos Blanco has helped me meet people like Cesar Nuñez, Alejandro Santana and Jesús Alonso.
- The Networking Activo lunches and Emilio Márquez have been one of the best sources of networking for getting to know people and doing business.
But be careful: this doesn’t happen overnight, and you don’t close a thousand contracts at every meeting; it happens little by little and with perseverance.”
As I said, a real star!
What makes Angel Maria a good networker?
- His personal branding. He looks after his image at every event he goes to; his pink shirt, jeans and sports jacket are a classic by now.
- His message. It’s not all about image: he knows how to communicate, explain what he does, speak in public and moderate a debate.
- Netiquette. He also takes great care over his communication on social networks, through his tweets, comments and blog posts.
- He doesn’t give you a sales pitch. He doesn’t go around telling everyone how good he is or that he owns a holding company, just what he does, plainly and without pretension.
- He is cordial and shows respect. He doesn’t look down on you, he listens when you talk to him, and he is friendly and pleasant to deal with.
- He has a sense of humour. This is essential for networking: being in a good mood opens more doors.
Also, knowing some of the companies he runs and his team, I can say he is a good “boss”, because you also have to do internal networking and get on well with your employees or your partners in the adventure.
So if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, I recommend following in his footsteps.
Happy Networking!
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