Don't Start With "What Do You Do?"

This was one of the instructions I gave last night at my Founders & Builders night.

As entrepreneurs, we love talking about our work. Our company. Our product. But that's not how people connect.

Break The Ice

So instead, people started off with:

• If I were to go into the Olympics, I'd play _____ sport
• If I were to set my phone's wallpaper to a sexy celebrity, it would be _____
• One city I would love to move to would be _______
• The series I've enjoyed most on Netflix this year was _________

And only after we broke the ice did we talk business.

Real Conversations

But not what our products solve. Rather, the conversations went deeper:

• "One thing I'm having a hard time with is selling"
• "You gotta write your priorities down on paper every morning"
• "AI has helped us reduce our staff from 30 to 18"
• "I'm having a hard time keeping my people motivated"

Those were some of the topics of conversation I overheard.

People Connected

Everyone exchanged contact information. People stayed until the bar closed and some of us even went to dinner and were out til midnight.

Thank you to everyone who made this a wonderful 3rd Space Bucharest event!

Final Thoughts

Skip the "what do you do" opener. Start with fun icebreaker questions. Let the business talk come naturally after people actually connect.

This approach works because people remember how you made them feel, not your elevator pitch. When you lead with curiosity and playfulness, the professional conversations become more authentic.

Find out about my next Bucharest cocktail party and experience it for yourself.