Welcome to the Richmond West End Idea Factory Meet-Up Group and thank you for taking a moment to see what we have to offer! 

The purpose of the group is to facilitate new relationships with people in the Richmond Area to collaborate on creative business ideas and assist in getting new businesses off the ground. It also provides a place for people with complementary skills and interests to collaborate on refining and implementing a business or career idea, potentially leading to a new career direction.

Give us a try and RSVP for one of our meet-ups!

Sincerely,

Andy Hess

What’s in it for Idea Posting Authors? 

• Need help in jump-starting a new business idea or tune an existing idea through collaboration;
• Find potential collaborators you would like to work with to turn an idea into a business;
• Find partners who complement your skill set;
• Find people who will invest time, effort and /or capital in your idea. 

What’s in it for joining participants? 

• Desire greater actualization by becoming involved in a new work/life venture;  
• Use skills that are presently underutilized or undervalued in your present career role;  
• Become involved with entrepreneurial, income producing ideas, potentially leading to a new career direction;  
• Desire to be part of or a principal in a start-up business. 

Setting up Your Idea Meet-Up Posting for Authors:

• Create an interesting Meet-Up title that shows enthusiasm.
• Write a clear Meet-Up description:
  • Include a description of the business idea, pitched in enough detail to generate interest;
  • Don’t be overly concerned about sharing some details of your Idea at first;
  • Include desired outcomes or deliverables for the meet-up;
  • Include the customer / client need that the business idea focuses on and how it may differ from existing businesses that it may compete with.
• Provide any supporting materials to facilitate the meet-up.
• If you wish for Participants to sign a confidentiality agreement, put this requirement in your Meet-Up description, and, if possible, forward a copy of the agreement to those who respond ahead of time.
• First time Posters are encouraged to discuss a posting with the Moderator ahead of time to assist in making the posting as effective as possible. Andrew can be contacted by email through the main Meet-Up page.

Schedule your Meet-Up:

• Select a venue in the West End Henrico or Glen Allen. The Panera at Short Pump is a good default location for up to10 to 12 participants. Call your venue and let them know of your plans.
• Pick a Meet-Up date and time; for maximum participation the best times are during weekdays after work or evenings. The most valued participants tend to have the greatest flexibility at these times.
• Respect your Participants’ valuable and limited discretionary time by keeping your initial Meet-Up length to about one hour.
• Limit Meet-Up size to a manageable working group.
• We generally do not charge money for meet-ups.

Prepare for your Meet-Up:

• Print out a sign so members can find you.
• Send out a personalized email reminder through the Meet-Up web site.
• Print out the names and photos of those who will attend for reference.
• Bring your digital camera to take a few pictures of groups of attendees to post to the Meet-Up site and foster excitement.
• Provide a Sharpie pen and blank nametags for yourself and your members to fill out.

Host your Meet-Up:

• Get to your venue 15 to 30 minutes early to reserve tables and chairs and to set up.
• Put up your sign somewhere visible.
• Welcome your members and encourage them to welcome new members.
• Identify members you want to work with going forward and let them know!
• Decide on what the outcomes of a follow-on meet-up should be as part of the Meet-Up discussions and schedule it right away. Be sure to plan a follow-on meeting time that does not conflict with other Organizers’ Meet-Ups.
• After the Meet-Up, send out Email:
  • A recap of the Meet-Up thanking members for coming;
  • Encourage members to RSVP for your upcoming Meet-Up;
  • Ask key participants to help out at future Meet-Ups;
  • Ask participants for feedback.

Keeping the momentum going during your Meet-Up 

For Posting Organizers:  

• You will need to create value in the eyes of the Meet-Up participants -- in you, then your idea, then your vision or plan. It is important to make sure you do all three things to maximize the outcomes of your Meet-Up.
• People like and want to help. At first they may shy away from specific commitments of time or effort so frame your needs so participants can share in authoring their role in helping, and don’t feel they have been put on the spot.
• Think in terms of what you or your idea’s strengths are, as well as weaker areas that you envision needing support with in building on your vision.
• Initially, your goal should be to build rapport with participants who have the potential to invest time, effort and /or capital in your idea.
• You may want to bring a facilitator with you to keep the meeting process going or take notes.  Meet-Ups can involve a lot of ideation and may require some debriefing after the fact to capture what happened;
• Organizing a Meet-Up of creative people focusing on a single idea can sometimes feel like herding cats, an impossible task! However, a little digression provides an opportunity to learn Participants’ communication styles and potentially view your idea from alternate perspectives. A few well placed comments can always bring the group back on point.

For Participants:

• Build relationships -- give the Meet-Up Organizer and Participants a feel for what you are about personally. In business, as in life, most people choose to work with those they like and respect, as much as people who can get the job done.
• Make an effort to speak with the Meet-Up Organizer and other Meet-Up Participants about your skills and strengths, and what you are looking for by becoming involved in a new work/life venture. It is important to give indications as to how you may best fit into a team.
• Be freely giving of your thoughts, guidance and time. The Meet-Up Organizer’s idea will probably need some nurturing, and you will want to engage in a little relationship building before the income potential of the Organizer’s idea becomes apparent. Give first and you shall receive.
• Help the Organizer by not digressing too far from the subject at hand.

Don't be discouraged - some Meet-Ups will go better than others. Discuss your concerns with the Moderator (Andy) or other Meet-Up Participants for lessons learned.

Richmond West End Idea Factory Meet-up Group rules:

Group members are encouraged to suggest rules, procedures, processes or provide other input on ways to facilitate the purpose of the West End Idea Factory Meet-Up Group to the Moderator.
Meet-up postings that are incomplete, unclear, illegal or judged inappropriate for any reason by the moderator will not be posted or may be removed after posting. This Meet-up group is not a place to recruit employees, sales force, broker, agency, distributorship, franchisee or other network for an established business. However meet-ups can include discussions on how to develop employee resources or a resource network as part of a business idea. Meet-up author / organizers may require the signing of confidentiality agreements to participate in their specific meet-ups.

About the Moderator:
Andrew Hess is a passionate and committed professional who has achieved significant successes in operations, marketing, start-up and product management roles.
He holds an MBA and has 15+ years of success in functional and technical management roles within major corporate businesses. His industry experience includes OE and AM automotive manufacturing, back office business services, title underwriting, legal, consulting, industrial distribution and the arts. Mr. Hess has achieved extensive success working in and leading new business initiatives. These qualifications give him the ability to speak the language of business ideation, development and implementation, understanding internal and market focused drivers, priorities and goals.