FAQs

This is perhaps my most received FAQ!

I don't personally hate calendly, I think it was a pretty revolutionary tool when it came out and I have a crazy amount of respect for any country which can scale to such a level.

There was a tweet which went viral a while ago calling calendly 'The Most Raw / Naked Display of Social Capital Dynamics in Business', however, my dislike for calendly isn't so polarised.

From a practical standpoint, I don't like the idea of having one link giving access to my entire calendar, instead, I prefer to have slots specifically picked for YOU and the specific reason we're meeting. It just feels a lot more personalised, flexible and convenient to suggest times specifically for our meeting. But if you prefer, don't hesitate to send me a calendly, I promise I don't take offence! 

If I’ve offered to give you an intro, I’d recommend reading this before you go ahead and accept the intro.

I usually use Bridge to help facilitate my introductions - it helps me keep everything in one place and makes the entire process easier considering that my work involves me knowing and introducing people. I feel Bridge does an amazing job of making sure everything stays in one place as well as maintaining the 'personal' feel to an intro. If you'd like to start using bridge and want an invite to the platform, hit me up and I'll be happy to send you one.

If I’m giving you an introduction to someone, it means that I’m extending my personal social capital to that individual to you. Intros are an extension of credibility. You, by the law of relations, are extending the credibility of the person given the intro. If you end up doing something which the other person takes offence to, it not only reflects badly on you but also on me too.

A forwardable is a short message written by you (the person who wants the introduction) for me to send to the person you’re being introduced to. It helps the person you’re being introduced to know the context and the expectations of the meetings.

Assume that the other person is only glancing at the email so short and sweet is the key. Additionally, try and cover these points in your forwardable -

• Who you are and your background
• Why do you want to speak to <person you’re being introed to> (specifically) - try not to be vague, it sounds like you’re wasting their time
• What are the expectations of their meeting

If you're a student or someone who's interested in getting advice, I'd recommend going in with a value proposition.

If you’re reaching out in the context of a VC investment, please try and touch upon these points -

• What you’re building
• Your/team background
• Traction/round/amount being raised
• How your approach is different
• Link to deck

Totally! I'm an extremely social person - I love meeting new people and working on exciting projects. One of my previous mistakes in life was not having a support system of other founders/ VCs/ people in the startup ecosystem and that led me to feel alone in the journey. Making sure that this time, I have a network whom I can fall back upon in times of need (but also because I just derive energy out of meeting cool people and adding value whenever possible!)

If you'd like to meet with me, drop me an email and we can put something on the calendar.

If you're here because I've reached out for a meeting - I really hold you/ what you're building in high regard - I'd love to meet you! One thing I've learnt from experience is that if you're able to talk to the right people, your startup journey would be much easier. I'm only a believer in the theory that if you add value to people without expecting anything in return, something will pan out for you, so if we're jumping on a call, I'll try my best to help you out regardless of whether or not you can reciprocate. If I'm reaching out, I do have a couple of talking points ready, but I've felt that both parties usually enjoy more free-flowing networking calls better, so while I do have a couple of things I would like to talk to you about, I would also like to take 10-ish minutes out to just get to know you as a person.

The best way to get in touch with me is through email.

Even though this is one of the questions I get asked a lot, I was trying to put away from answering it :) One of the things which my parents have ingrained in me from a young age is to find something you're passionate about and then find a way to make it into your "work". While it sounds like a cliche and boring answer, I enjoy working on startups more than anything else in the world and so what I love doing is my work - I feel extremely grateful that I'm able to live at the intersection of doing what I love and working on/with startups.

All that being said, I do other stuff, once in a while, too... When not working, you can find me listening to pop/EDM music, watching absolutely random things on Netflix, trying to read every book in the library or eating Indian street food. I also have a crazy love for productivity tech software (I try out hundreds of new products a year and I'm always up for trying out more).

But honestly, the truth is, I'm still trying to find myself and develop new hobbies. I have a couple things in mind, will let you know if something sticks :)

Sure - hit me up at speaking [@] jairelan [.] com with the specifics and I'd love to see if we can do something cool together.

My estimate is that I respond to ~90% of the personalised cold email directed towards me usually within 12 hours (however, it may take up to 48 hours if I'm busy with certain work, out of the office or have other commitments).

I'm usually pretty good with my email and don't need to be followed up with, however, if it's been >1 week and you're still waiting for a response, there's a slight chance your email somehow slipped through my workflow so a polite nudge would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and sorry again :)

I prepare a list of people I'm going to hit up when I'm next in a city - having it ready beforehand helps me get a good idea of the logistics involved. I usually try to meet by location so I can increase the efficiency of the trip.

If you'd like to grab a coffee/ take a walk/ meet when I'm in town next, let me know and I'll hit you up before I come into town. Excited to meet you!