Help is the currency of these times.

I get asked why I decided to get involved with Startup Grind and lead the chapter in Columbus. I typically echo Startup Grind's mission and values, which you can get to know if you visit the Home or About Us pages of the site. You have probably already been there if you've made it to this post. As I thought more about what happens at Startup Grind events and at our Global Conference, I can sum it up as people helping people. Of course people helping people isn't fundamentally a new concept. And maybe the idea of help being the currency of these times isn't new either. It doesn't matter if it is new. It just matters that it matters. And it matters to the Startup Grind family.

Help is the currency of these times because most of what a startup needs is about people. People is really all we have. Steve Case said at the recent #upsummit, "If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." You can try to go it alone and maybe you are talented enough to get it done on your own. If you are, let's hangout so I can get some pointers. Most of us will need other people. Most of us will need help. And a lot of it.

If you are driven to get something accomplished, people will make the difference. Most VC's I have spoken with and heard, say they invest in people. Smart people preferably. Smart people that are coach-able is powerful. You can get access to services like design, development, legal, etc., through people. You can get access to capital through people. You can get a co-founder and build your team through other people. People helping each other is what accomplishes great things.

One of the advantages Silicon Valley has had over the rest of the U.S. and frankly the world, is it's network and support system = help. What we do at Startup Grind is to be a catalyst for help and to bring people together to exchange this currency. We give them some place (100+ now, around the world) to go each month where they feel comfortable to learn, share, help, and be helped. People that come to our events get to hear real stories of triumph and struggle from the folks that speak at our events. Our speakers give us their time and share their experience and expertise to help.

Helping people is the great privilege and reward of being involved in Startup Grind. Our goal isn't to have events for the sake of having events. If someone comes to one our events and doesn't give or receive help of some sort, then we failed. Regardless of how big the event was. Hopefully people give more help than they take, because then we really build a community that is greater than any individual.

Help is the currency of these times. Everyone has this currency to give. Every month in Columbus and around the world Startup Grind provides a platform for the currency of help to be exchanged. I invite you to join us in Columbus or wherever you might be located to share some of your help currency. You will get it back exponentially.