Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.

By Aaron Franklin

Most meetings are non-eventful. You say you’ll keep in touch, and maybe you’re introduced to others. While the entrepreneur may fantasize about someone jumping out of their seat with excitement, it’s more likely they’ll see someone that just wants to get through the day. 

It’s natural to feel like the goal of meetings is to make everyone excited about your product. But I’ve recently learned the goal at the beginning should be to find one more person truly passionate about your topic. Someone as excited about the problem you’re solving as you were when you took the plunge. Someone so excited that they want to jump in with you. This is true whether you’re talking to a potential advisor, investor or user.

Move forward. As you share your vision more openly, don’t be disenchanted by meetings that go nowhere. It only takes a single meeting to change things. A single person can change everything for your startup. Suddenly, the less productive meetings make sense, and don’t matter.  Remember that even the best pitches will often be ignored.

Make your goals achievable, and keep moving. Start with 1, and then seek 1 more. If you can get 1 advisor, you can get 1 more. If you can get 1 fanatical user, you can get 1 more. If you can get 1 customer, you can get 1 more. Forget the dreams of overnight success. You’re doing a startup, and that means you’re building from the ground up.

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