
What we’re about
Here's the one explicit reason why it pays to join Influence Others:
You Gain by Understanding Your Brain
And this is a great time to jump aboard because:
More has been discovered about the human brain in the last ten years than in ALL of human history.
But those advances also present founding teams with an unavoidable stark choice:
[Learn, Adapt, Profit] OR [Fall Fatally Behind]
SUMMARY
It turns out many neuroscience findings are not only fascinating, but readily applicable to the two distinct skill sets crucial for every startup team’s success in the commercial marketplace:
· Mechanics of communicating with confidence, conviction and credibility
· Traction – the triumvirate of attracting, acquiring and retaining customers
The Influence Others meetup filters those recent discoveries, presenting the ones pertinent to the sales and marketing challenges startups typically face.
By attending you'll gain from better understanding how the brain’s decision making actually machinery works.
Specifically, you’ll learn to take advantage of what science teaches is the optimal approach to communicating persuasively and you'll pick up several immediately useful science-based tips on earning market traction.
DETAILS
Imagine if you could offer your product to customers or to pitch your company to investors so they, on their own accord and before you spoke your first word, were influenced to buy into your vision because of techniques you used; and equally important, because of those you avoided.
That astounding claim is true because the anatomically modern human brain is hard-wired by millions of years of evolution to scan for certain signals it much prefers over others. Such built-in biases are among the recent discoveries about how we influence each other.
Indeed, with multiple disciplines focusing simultaneously on the human brain, more has been discovered about that singular organ in the last decade than in ALL previous history.
As a result, we’re in a propitious position of witnessing the birth of a radically counter-intuitive model of how neural processes motivate our behavior, both as individuals and in groups.
Taking insights from such well-regarded books as Thinking, Fast and Slow (Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman), Influence: Science and Practice (Robert B. Cialdini), and Start with Why (Simon Sinek), the sessions apply those findings to typical communication challenges entrepreneurs face such as:
· Explaining the startup’s business model so it interests investors and attracts team members
· Designing marketing material and a home page that encourages engagement
By joining Influence Others you’ll learn that influencing others is no longer the art it was for centuries, but instead persuasion is emerging as a science, making it a skill you can readily acquire.
Even more, the fastest way to come up to speed on is to volunteer in the meetup and help prepare the next session. If that's interesting to you, then contact Nathan Schor 305.632.1368 nathan@rcsm.io .
Instructor – After graduating Boston College (Summa Cum Laude in Philosophy and Psychology) Nathan Schor began his IT career as a database programmer. Preferring conversation over code, he evolved into sales, accumulating over three decades of experience, including deploying CRM applications in hundreds of businesses across a wide range of sizes and sectors.
About ten years ago he stated noticing more and more discoveries in neural science having a direct bearing on influencing people. Tracking those breakthroughs, he found several of them useful in improving his own technique. He created the Influence Others meetup to chronicle those findings and share his insights.
Encouraged by the positive reviews the sessions earned, Nathan founded the Resource Center for Scientific Marketing to expose a wider audience the discoveries coming out of neural science labs applicable to the sales and marketing challenges startup teams face.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- 50 PERCENT OFF! AI Product Building Workshop @ StanfordStanford University, Stanford, CA
This event is organized by Bay Founders Club.
Our meetup group is collaborating by promoting this event.
Please register there:
AI Product Building Workshop @ Stanford · Luma
Our meetup members get 50 PERCENT OFF!
Use promo code:
IDEATOIPO50
Hurry!
Slots are limited!
####
Everyone’s building AI products and services — but most products still fail.
Why? It’s not the tech. It’s the product thinking.
Join Alex Dang, Silicon Valley strategist and co-author of the global bestseller The Venture Mindset, for a no-fluff, high-impact workshop on what really separates winning AI products from the ones that never ship—or worse, launch and flop.
You’ll learn the 7 deadly mistakes that kill AI projects—and how to avoid them using the same tools that helped scale ideas at Amazon and drive innovation with Fortune 500s and startups alike.
This workshop is battle-tested, hands-on, and designed for builders who want to move faster without wasting time on the wrong things.
***
🧠 What You’ll Learn
- How to stress-test clarity and ambition of your idea
- How to run fast MVP tests (without overbuilding)
- How to identify and design for edge cases
- Why simple hacks often beat complex models
- Why storytelling and demos matter more than feature lists
- How to reimagine, not just automate
- And most importantly: how to pick a problem worth solving
You’ll leave with a framework, tools, and mental models you can apply immediately—whether you’re shipping your first prototype or your tenth investor update.
***
Who Should Join
- Startup founders
- Anyone ready to stop talking about AI — and start shipping smarter
📄 What You'll Get
- A proven framework to validate and stress-test your AI product ideas with clarity and ambition
- Templates and examples to improve storytelling, demo strategy, and product thinking instantly
- A certificate of Completion to showcase your skills in AI product building and apply them immediately
🎙️ About the Speaker
Alex Dang is a former Amazon and AWS AI product leader, McKinsey Partner, and keynote speaker who launched and scaled numerous new digital products and businesses, and advise some of the world’s most iconic companies. He's the co-author of The Venture Mindset, a global bestseller now translated into multiple languages. He works at the intersection of product strategy, AI, and innovation – with clients from Fortune 500s to startups.
- Meet New People! Saturday Night Networking (In-Person)Panera Bread Cupertino, Cupertino, CA
This event is in Cupertino:
Panera Bread
20807 Stevens Creek Blvd. #100
Cupertino, CA 95014Look for the MEETUP sign!
This event is organized in collaboration with many groups.
Come out and meet new people!
Network, socialize and connect!
This event is free to attend.
Please register here:
Meet New People! Saturday Night Networking Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite
Attendees must purchase their own liquid refreshments and food.
There's no content or speaker at this event -- just business and social networking.
Build your business and social network - face to face! (in-person)
Come out and enjoy a great evening of good food, liquid refreshments, and connecting.
You may meet your next business collaborator, client, employer, employee, friend, or tennis partner!
Getting away from a screen for a few hours will do you some good!
: -)
Meet Silicon Valley movers and shakers - Internet entrepreneurs, developers, engineers, mobile app coders, attorneys, bloggers, academics, financiers, marketing professionals, community organizers and investors.
This event is organized in collaboration with other groups!
@ideatoipo
www.idea-to-ipo.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjYga11avYH_CUpC0BSyDng
(videos of online events)
Look for the MEETUP sign!
Organizational Sponsor:
Startup House
Need a place to stay short term in Silicon Valley?
Stay at Startup House in Palo Alto - the heart of Silicon Valley - for as low as $50 a night!
-Network, socialize and connect with entrepreneurs all over the world!
-Enjoy social events and startup and venture capital-related programming!
- Have access to world class amenities, iconic tech companies, top tier venture capital firms, Stanford University, etc. - all within walking or biking distance!For more info, visit:
https://startuphouse.carrd.co/ - Meet New People! Sunday Night Networking (In-Person)Panera Bread, Santa Clara, CA
Look for the MEETUP sign!
Come out and meet new people!
Network, socialize and connect!
This event is free to attend.
Please register here:
Meet New People! Sunday Night Networking / Games! Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite
Attendees must purchase their own liquid refreshments and food.
There's no content or speaker at this event -- just business and social networking.
Build your business and social network - face to face! (in-person)
Come out and enjoy a great evening of good food, liquid refreshments, and connecting.
You may meet your next business collaborator, client, employer, employee, friend, or tennis partner!
Getting away from a screen for a few hours will do you some good!
: -)
Meet Silicon Valley movers and shakers - Internet entrepreneurs, developers, engineers, mobile app coders, attorneys, bloggers, academics, financiers, marketing professionals, community organizers and investors.
This event is organized in collaboration with other groups!
@ideatoipo
www.idea-to-ipo.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjYga11avYH_CUpC0BSyDng
(videos of online events)
Look for the MEETUP sign!
- Meet New People! Saturday Night Networking (In-Person)Panera Bread Cupertino, Cupertino, CA
This event is in Cupertino:
Panera Bread
20807 Stevens Creek Blvd. #100
Cupertino, CA 95014Look for the MEETUP sign!
This event is organized in collaboration with many groups.
Come out and meet new people!
Network, socialize and connect!
This event is free to attend.
Please register here:
Meet New People! Saturday Night Networking Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite
Attendees must purchase their own liquid refreshments and food.
There's no content or speaker at this event -- just business and social networking.
Build your business and social network - face to face! (in-person)
Come out and enjoy a great evening of good food, liquid refreshments, and connecting.
You may meet your next business collaborator, client, employer, employee, friend, or tennis partner!
Getting away from a screen for a few hours will do you some good!
: -)
Meet Silicon Valley movers and shakers - Internet entrepreneurs, developers, engineers, mobile app coders, attorneys, bloggers, academics, financiers, marketing professionals, community organizers and investors.
This event is organized in collaboration with other groups!
@ideatoipo
www.idea-to-ipo.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjYga11avYH_CUpC0BSyDng
(videos of online events)
Look for the MEETUP sign!
Organizational Sponsor:
Startup House
Need a place to stay short term in Silicon Valley?
Stay at Startup House in Palo Alto - the heart of Silicon Valley - for as low as $50 a night!
-Network, socialize and connect with entrepreneurs all over the world!
-Enjoy social events and startup and venture capital-related programming!
- Have access to world class amenities, iconic tech companies, top tier venture capital firms, Stanford University, etc. - all within walking or biking distance!For more info, visit:
https://startuphouse.carrd.co/