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May 19, 2026
Into the Den: Alex Waters - The Program Labs
Into the Den: Alex Waters - The Program Labs
00:00
45:24
Transcript
0:00
You're the, like, most connected, uh, people that I sometimes see around S- sometimes, sometimes see around. Okay. That's one, that's one way to go about it.
0:10
[laughs] It's like, I some- sometimes see this guy sort of floating around town. Calling up SD, pack moves low-key. Found in the wild, yeah, they tracking through the feed. Howl in the night, not a whole coming sink.
0:21
Two new necks deep before we order a drink. While being solo, now you walk out with friends. Social coyote, stepping to the den. Alex, where are we?
0:33
Uh, we are at the Business Resource Center at the Harbor View Campus, uh, for San Diego College of Continuing Education. I've always enjoyed talking to you. You're one of the- Likewise...
0:44
the, like, most connected, uh, people that I sometimes see around S- sometimes, sometimes see around. Okay. That's one, that's one way to go about it.
0:54
[laughs] It's like, I some- sometimes see this guy sort of floating around town. Okay. No. Okay. So lately...
0:58
No, but it's funny because people, people who, people who know you are like, "Yo, Alex, Alex is a plugged in guy. Alex knows all the people." When I ask them, people are like, "Oh, yeah, he's great."
1:07
And then you look through your background, and you've actually done some really interesting stuff, and I do wanna hear kinda what the Program Labs is up to now. But- Okay...
1:13
um, I know you're not an- originally from San Diego, so like- I am not... how did, how did you, like, get so connected here? Uh, so, so I'm not originally from here. I came here for grad school, went back home.
1:26
Yeah Uh, and then was working in ed tech, decided to move back out to San Diego. Yeah And because I had some startup experience, I had been in a startup, uh, for I think seven years at that point.
1:37
Um, when I got out here, I kinda wanted to get involved in some of what is the sort of the startup kinda space.
1:44
I had a buddy years ago when we, when I was in DC, uh, he was living in Lehigh, and he was like, "Hey, why don't you come for the weekend, and we'll go to, like, this startup weekend thing?" Yeah, nice.
1:52
And we'd always talked about starting businesses and different kind of stuff like that. So I went to one of those. I was like, "Oh, that's really cool."
1:58
So when I came out here, I actually, uh, participated in a startup weekend, um, and then volunteered- Yeah... uh, for some of the other ones 'cause I thought, "Oh, this is really cool."
2:09
Yeah "It's a great way to kinda just meet people who are also kinda building businesses." Yeah And that led to a whole host of kind of other things- Yeah... and other areas of getting involved in San Diego.
2:18
Well, it's funny 'cause, like, we, whenever we talk, we always talk about how the strategies to get connected are actually kinda simple.
2:26
Yeah But people seem, but people seem to, like, overplay how complex it is and how hard it is to actually get connected or maybe just rush into it in the wrong way, or maybe there, there's lots of, of different reasons.
2:36
But I remember- Yeah... you were telling me a couple of funny stories about, um, like l- [chuckles] like literally getting sandwiches.
2:42
Yeah And I think that was, like, a pretty cool way to look at, um, you know, what you can actually do to, to, like, help people, be helpful- Yeah...
2:50
and actually get connected, and it seems like if you, the more you dig on and more I pull the thread on kind of how you got- Yeah...
2:55
so many nice relationships and all these people saying nice things about, you know, what you've done for the community, it was always, like, simple things kinda like that.
3:03
Yeah So I don't know if you wanna tell, tell that story and then, like, what, how that philosophy of has helped you actually get really connected- Okay... 'cause I think people overthink it. Yeah.
3:10
I, I think one of the big things is in any, uh, ecosystem community, especially if it's around events and things like that, almost every event, unless it is a super, super high-end, you know, budget is unlimited, anybody who's throwing anything could always use some help, right?
3:26
They always could use some hands. They always could use somebody who's willing to sorta help out. Uh, and then also without the sort of, uh, hierarchy of what an individual is, like, willing to do. Uh, so the- So-...
3:37
sandwich story was something that is super simple.
3:39
I was, like, helping out with, uh, Startup Week, uh, San Diego, and they were kinda doing some stuff, but I, I don't know what happened, but the people who I guess who were supposed to go get it, they forgot to order, and it was some issue, but then everybody was, you know, kinda heads down trying to map out the rest of the stuff for the day and the events, and there's a lot of stuff coming in.
3:56
So anybody who hasn't volunteered for, like, a Startup Week, uh, years ago they all used to be in the exact same location in one spot sort of downtown.
4:05
Yeah Uh, but there's, like, hundreds of different things that are going on, events and needing speakers, and, oh, this chair needs to go over here or this thing. And so logistically it's just a lot.
4:15
Um, and so I was in the office and, uh, helping out 'cause I'd helped out earlier that week, and then someone was like, "Hey, uh, man, we, we gotta go get, like, uh, we gotta go get food for the people who are volunteering there and some other stuff."
4:27
And, uh, and they were like, "Okay. Well, well..." I overheard people talking. It's like, "Well, what can I do here?" Or, uh, "Well, I have to do this thing. I have to do this thing."
4:35
I was like, "Well, I, I can go get the sandwiches if people need." And they were like, "Oh, you'll, you'll go get them?" You'll do that? I was like, "Yeah."
4:42
But it, I think, 'cause I think sometimes what happens is, is, like, people volunteer, but when they volunteer, they're always thinking about what's the highest value thing that I could possibly get for this, or what's the highest value thing that I can do, right?
4:55
I wanna, you know, meet all the VIPs, or I wanna do X, Y, Z. Most people don't volunteer 'cause they're like, "I'm gonna fold up a bunch of chairs." Which you may. You probably would. [laughs] And, right. Right.
5:05
Like, or, or I'm gonna, you know, transport some boxes to and from.
5:09
But in the end of the day, like, if you're volunteering and you care about the success of the event, then the likelihood is that those things are actually really important day of.
5:19
Right No one's gonna list that on the things that you do as a volunteer. "Hey, you know what I need a volunteer to do?" [laughs] "Is to carry 100 chairs-" Yeah, right... you know, uh, from here across town."
5:27
Right People will be like, "I'm not doing that. I'm not signing up for, like, manual labor." Huh. But those things do become incredibly valuable on the actual day of- Right... events, right?
5:38
And so just saying, "Hey, yeah, I'll go and get sandwiches for everybody," just removes one stress point- Yeah... that on a normal day that's not that big of a deal.
5:48
Right But if you've got 25 people in an office who are a little bit aggro that they didn't get lunch, and, like- Yeah... it's just super simple. I mean, I just walk down the street and go get it.
5:56
It's not like I had to pay for it or anything like that. Yeah. It was all done. It was all set up. You just, someone needed to, like- Just say. Yep. And so I think just raising your hand to- Yeah...
6:05
help out, even in ways that are like-You know, just basic things. But again, I think though the perspective has to be that I'm just willing to help out for this event without having a- Yeah...
6:18
oh, well, I'm gonna get X, Y, and Z- Right... or I'm gonna, you know, do these things. My point was always in anything that I had sort of volunteered with is just to, you know, bring a benefit. Right.
6:30
And, like, I know in the long run I'm gonna meet other people who are doing stuff or who are in the community. I don't know who they will wind up being. I'm not...
6:38
I, I wish there was a, I don't know, a way around plotting it- Mm-hmm... where it's like, okay, I'm gonna volunteer here, here, here, here, here, here. Yeah, wasn't a master plan. Right.
6:44
And I'm gonna meet these seven people.
6:46
Although you could theoretically do that in, in a lot of ways, 'cause I, I don't know if this has happened to you, I found myself at events literally being like, "God, I'm too early," like, "I don't know what to do with my hands."
6:54
And, and you end up checking people in, which is actually one of the best things you could possibly do at an event. Absolutely. You know? I, I've ne- I've never met more people. It's actually easier, you know, to...
7:03
'Cause you're, like, helping them grab their name tag or finding it or whatever, and then they're like, "Who are you?" You're standing behind the table. You're, "I'm just a guy who's wanting to be helpful," I guess.
7:11
But that was... I thought that was interesting, 'cause y- you know, you were telling the sandwich story, but then you said you- Yeah... you do a couple more of these, and now people start to...
7:18
Well, one, they're super thankful, 'cause they're like, "Gosh, that, that problem's solved."
7:22
But then you start to get noticed around, uh, uh, in other places that you've kinda just raised your hand to, to help, and it was like, kind of felt like a strategy in a way. I- Maybe linearly looking backwards.
7:31
[laughs] I, I mean, m- maybe. I, I, I think the thing was that, yes it is to, like, learn and meet sort of more people and figure out what folks are kinda doing.
7:39
But, um, so, so, uh, from kind of some of the, the volunteering for the Startup Weekend- Yeah...
7:46
and, um, just being on the team and helping out, you kinda learn a little bit more about what's happening in kind of the ecosystem. And then I was going to this event, 1 Million Cups. Mm-hmm.
7:55
Uh, and so I was going every Wednesday. It used to be downtown in the, well, the former Irvine building. They, they sold it now. I don't know who they sold it to, but anyway. Yeah. Um, and every Wednesday. Yeah.
8:04
Every Wednesday I would show up, and there would be entrepreneurs there that would be pitching kind of events and, and things like that.
8:10
And so then it was like, oh, okay, well, they needed the next group of individuals to kinda just help out. Yeah. And so it was like, well,
8:18
if I've been coming to this thing for eight months every Wednesday and getting information from people and meeting people and connecting with folks, like, yeah, okay, I'll raise my hand.
8:27
I'll, I'll volunteer to, to be one of the people that is helping out in whatever capacity- Yeah... I could wind up helping out. Um, and then I did that for
8:37
a while, um, kinda just, you know, organizing, uh, being a, a part of the, you know, team that puts it kinda together. Uh, and yeah, you do meet a lot of people, but also it's just a piece of... I think what people
8:50
don't really realize is that regardless of what the contribution is, if you are consistently contributing to a community, an ecosystem, a network, right, people will notice, and they'll know that you provide value.
9:06
Right. Oh, right. Because it's like, oh, this person does this thing. Consistent.
9:11
And they're there, and they're doing it, and they're giving value without being paid for it, without, you know, requiring or requesting sort of stuff back.
9:21
Um, and then a lot of that kinda aligned with, uh, some of the stuff that I was doing, um, at the Downtown San Diego Partnership, because it was like, hey, this is a great just opportunity to know what's happening, to be a part of it, to, you know, provide- Right...
9:34
sort of additional stuff. So we did the 1 Million Cups for a while. One year I helped, uh, volunteer, uh, to coordinate.
9:41
Uh, we had like a, a community kind of fair, uh, and like, you know, getting the people there and, and- Right...
9:47
and reaching out to different orgs to be able to provide stuff for the entrepreneurs that were gonna be there. Like, stuff like that, right?
9:52
And there's a ton of people, uh, across San Diego over the years that have really put in a lot of energy, time, and effort into doing that. Um, not as many as there probably should be. Yeah. Uh, but
10:05
doing those things people will see, oh, hey, you know what? You're actually trying to, like, help all of us. Right. And so when there are opportunities that are around, people will reach out.
10:16
They'll be like, "Hey, you know, what about this thing?" or, "What about this thing?"
10:20
Um, and so eventually, yes, it's, it's all beneficial because people wanna help the people who are helping things that they care about, right? Right. Helping things in communities that they're interested in.
10:29
Yeah, that makes sense. Otherwise it's, you know, it's just like a why would I ask someone who I don't know, who hasn't delivered any sort of value to the community, when I could ask this person- Right...
10:39
over here who I know is doing something and volunteering. And when you look at, if you look at most of the people, and it's not everybody, but a lot of the folks who people look to as sort of individuals who are,
10:52
uh, I don't wanna describe it hierarchical, but, like, individuals who people look at as saying, hey, they're super well-connected, or they are super plugged in, or they are sort of at the top of the heap in terms of- Right...
11:03
how people are describing different kinds of things. Oftentimes you will find that those individuals have spent a lot of time providing value to that community, whatever community it is, right? That's a good point.
11:14
Um, and so I, I think we kinda miss that part, uh, as folks are kinda racing toward wanting to get the thing that's valuable for them. Um- Yeah, why do you think that happens?
11:25
'Cause it seems like if you actually look deeper, like you said, the people that are s- sort of the most connected are the ones who have given a lot of, uh, the m- sort of the most time, or maybe even behind the scenes, or made the most connections or are actually putting effort in.
11:38
But for some reason, people don't think that... Maybe you don't see it. Is that part of it, you think?
11:42
Where, where like I didn't see that you helped out all those times, but it was cool to hear that after the fact when people kept saying, "Oh," like, "You gotta talk to Alex, Alex, Alex." You know what I mean?
11:52
And, and so until you dig in, you're like, oh, it's because you helped out here and there, and you were involved in this thing. And so, I don't know. W- what do you think, why do you think that is? Um,
12:04
one, I don't think that there are nearly as many people who are interested in providing value with no understanding of the direct ROI.
12:13
Yeah, fair.I'm gonna be crass about it, but a lot of people just kind of want the thing that they want, and they're not actually interested in providing value to the larger kind of community- Yeah...
12:21
that is around whatever it is, whether that's business, whether that's education, whether that's, like, could be anything. There aren't that many people who organize stuff. That's fair. Right?
12:31
A lot of people that'll show up once there's something happening. True. But there's not as many people that organize kind of events or will raise their hand to give up significant time- Right...
12:41
for things unless they know, "Well, I'm absolutely gonna get X, Y, and Z back." And so I think that's the, the first part of it.
12:48
Um, the second piece is people sometimes underestimate, again, like, "Well, what value can I bring?" Well, you know what? You can fold some chairs. Like- You- You can- Right... pack some boxes.
12:58
You can send a couple emails. You can order some lunches. You, like, there's all these little, teeny-tiny things that folks can do that don't have to have any kind of, um, you know, technical expertise- Right...
13:09
or understanding. But I think a lot of times people are like, "Oh, well, I'll volunteer if you let me have my own session where I can give information so my business can get clients."
13:19
It's like, well, that could be cool, but, like, that's not- For you [laughs]... always, right, what- That's cool, yeah... people are looking for. Right.
13:25
It's like, "Oh, I'm brand new here, and this would be a great way for me to make money so I can do X." It's like, well, how about you kind of put in first, and then- Yeah... you can worry about, like, kind of taking out.
13:37
And I think more people- Yeah... are sort of focused on kind of taking out- It-... versus putting in. It feels like, I mean, maybe this is a, a theme, but it feels like there's a lack of patience there.
13:45
'Cause if you do pa- you know, not wait your tur- I don't necessarily think the waiting your turn framing is right, but I think if you were patient and met a bunch of people, then things sort of come to you in, in many ways, and I think, I think, I think that step gets skipped a lot.
13:58
Um, j- are you familiar, do you know Max from the AI Tinkers group? Yeah, yeah. Like, I, I kinda liked what he did.
14:04
He was, like, new to town, and he's like, "Oh, this group that I like that exists other places isn't here. I'm just gonna, like, do it." Yeah.
14:09
You know, and, and, and he got connected quickly in the AI community, which he wants to be in anyways. Yep. And so I thought that was a pretty amazing strategy. I don't know.
14:18
I, a- but you don't have to be the person that's finding the venue for 100 people, but, um,
14:26
but like you said, you could just off- you could just show up a bunch of times and show up early and help them check people in or find- Offer to help... venues. Just offer to help is really, really fe- feels like it.
14:35
It's kind of funny. I think we talked about this the other night, um, the idea of, like, the yacht. Uh, remember that story where it's like- Yeah...
14:40
basically like you, the yacht's an interesting example, which I don't have, but, uh, the st- [laughs] Don't worry. I don't, I don't have one either, so, so we're, we're good. It's a large boat- Yeah...
14:50
uh, for those who don't know. Uh, no, it's, so basically it's like, it's the way to give a gift- Yeah... kind of, uh, add some reciprocity, um, and then, uh, bring people kind of into your world. Love it.
15:00
And so you don't actually have to have a yacht to, to provide people the same experience of- No... a yacht, right? You can just give people things, uh, for, for free or be generous- Yeah...
15:10
into a community, and then people kind of reciprocate that or at least kind of will come to your event or will offer advice or will connect you when you do need that connect for your business or whatever.
15:18
Um, so I don't know. I think, I think probably more people need more yachts, uh, in gen- [laughs] That's a, that's a super interesting way to kind of float around it, but, uh, y- yeah, sure.
15:28
Well- I think, I think, I think folks, yes, yes. Um, but, uh, it, it, it is a, is a good point because I think what happens is, um, it's more of sort of like the long game.
15:38
Like, if you're really interested in being a part of any community, and community is a, sometimes can be a sort of, uh, a confusing word- Right...
15:48
because people think that it encapsulates everything, but actually- Right... community in a weird way is, like, defined by who's not in it just as much as who is in it. Right. Um- 'Cause it's like a circle of sorts.
15:58
Right. Yeah. So, but if people's interest is being a part of something- Right... my thought is like, well, aren't you in it to be a part of it for a long period of time? Mm.
16:10
And if that's true, then it doesn't matter if it takes six months, a year, two years, five years, 10 years. Like- It's who you are... because- You care about it... you're planning on being there. Right.
16:20
Now, if you're not, and it's just, like, transactional, that's where I think people kind of confuse, um, what people who are, you know, like yourself, like community builders, connecting people- Right...
16:33
ecosystem builders, like there's a difference in how that approach is versus, like, "Oh, I just want something that's, like, transactional." Right.
16:40
And I think that that's, I think that that's okay as long as, uh, both parties are aware of what that winds up being. Right. Right?
16:49
Like, I've been to events before, um, where everyone in there is, like, you know, a high-end, high-level service provider, and they l- are perfectly fine with meeting someone and talking to them for, like, 25 seconds and, and them both coming to the conclusion that, like, "I'm here to get leads.
17:07
Can you get me leads?" Ah. "No." And the other person's like, "Can you get me leads?" "No. Awesome to meet you. I'm gonna go talk to somebody else." But the dynamics in there are everyone's aware.
17:16
They're all on the same page. 'Cause there's- And so there's not a- 'Cause that's the event structure and- And that's not a problem. No, right.
17:21
Like, and, and nobody has any issues with it, and people are perfectly cordial. Yeah. I think when there's a disconnect is when you start to have kind of challenges and problems, right? Where people expect- Mm...
17:30
certain things from it that either- Yeah... the entity can't kind of provide.
17:34
People are like, "Oh, well, I was coming to this meet event 'cause I was supposed to meet investors, and I only volunteered 'cause I was supposed to get somebody to give me a bunch of money." It's like, well- Yeah...
17:42
that's probably not, and you may should've done some more due diligence because, uh, and this goes back to the kind of thing we talked about with social capital.
17:48
It's like the likelihood that you just show up and then all of a sudden someone's like, "Hey, I don't know you, don't know anything about you." Yeah, right.
17:55
"Uh, let me open, you know, my, you know," I'll date myself and say Rolodex. Oh, yeah, right. Which sounds like- [laughs]... kind of seems like, what is that? Right. Uh, but yeah.
18:03
Let me open up, you know, my contacts- Right... and just send you every high-value contact that I have. Right. And I've known you for four minutes.Why would you not do that? Yeah. Right?
18:12
It's like, well, okay, well, let's- I know. Before, before I got to you, I had a business card in my hand. Right. And I was like, "Okay, this is a weird..."
18:17
Well, so there's a-- Someone else was telling me this is actually interesting. I thought this was interesting.
18:21
They said that a commun- Like, the problem I was experiencing was, um, you know, Social Capital is getting a little bit bigger. Yep. People are moving here and saying, "Hey, I wanna get plugged in."
18:29
You're like, "Okay, cool. I don't even know how to think about that." Yeah. 'Cause you're new to the city, and I don't know how to even approach it. Yeah.
18:34
And I don't wanna-- You wanna be careful to introduce someone that you haven't sort of vetted yourself, but you can't vet them 'cause they're not here. So how do you even think about that?
18:41
And the p- the advice I got was basically that, um, you can sort of, to a degree, let the community decide and sort of weed out and weed, weed in, uh, the good people, you know?
18:52
And so that's kind of to your strategy, where you're saying, "If
18:55
I want to be here for long enough," then I think people would be very comfortable to introduce you to the person that's been help- really helpful versus the other way around, where, you know, you bring someone in, and, uh, you know, I don't necessarily point to any industry, but it's like within seconds I'm being pitched on some, some business I probably don't need.
19:11
Yeah. And also it's like there, there is just like a, a, a thing with comfort over time. Yeah. Like, you know? That, that's fair. A-as people- That's fair. That's fair...
19:20
have-- Even if somebody's like, "Hey, I met you and you're awesome"- Yeah... that still doesn't mean that immediately I'm gonna introduce you to everybody that I know. Yeah. Right?
19:27
Like- More li- Maybe more likely, though. It, it could be, but I mean, like the, like-- I think about that, right? Yeah. So you're super plugged in, right? You meet somebody- Right...
19:34
and they're like, "This person is awesome." Right. And they're like, "Hey, you know what I'd really love? I'd really love to get in front of a couple people who have exited companies.
19:43
Can you introduce me to those people?" Right. You might be like, "Well, I could, but like, I still don't know you. You seem really great, but like- Yeah. Right, right...
19:51
maybe we chat a few more times before I decide to do that." Right. And that's a natural way with which people- Right... operate, right? Right. That's not a--
20:00
A, I don't think that-- I think sometimes people think about it, they're like, "Oh, well, why wouldn't somebody do that?" And I'm like, "Well, would, would you?" Right? And most people would not. Right.
20:08
Because it's, it's, it's a way with which we operate and exist, um, in making those connections, right?
20:15
And there's a trust in those connections that like if I know somebody is a VC and they invest in stuff, like I will send stuff to different people, but, but I'm only gonna send the things that I think are gonna be relevant to them- Right...
20:28
because that's based on the relationship that I have with them. Versus
20:33
if it was just like, "Hey, I'm sending anything," then eventually they're gonna be like, hey, like if you're close enough, they may say something to you.
20:40
If you're not super close, then they're just gonna stop answering your emails and stop. Like, and that's not a space that people kinda wanna sorta be in, right? Yeah, that's actually interesting.
20:49
I don't think people put, a lot of times put that lens on when, when asking for help or connections or, or anything for that matter.
20:58
It's kinda just like, "You could do this to make my life better, so can you just do that?" But I think that comes back to kinda what we're talking about. What, you know, uh, I'll kinda come back to the yacht example.
21:08
It's like it could be as simple-- Like, you don't have to do that, but what you could do is you could organize a small group of people. That could be a yacht. You could have a dinner party.
21:17
You could-- I mean, news- I think a newsletter i-if it's done right can easily be something like that. I think there's a lot of different ways. We don't have to go buy a boat.
21:24
But it's like how could-- It's almost like what can you give, uh, to a group of people that then, um, kinda opens, opens a lot of doors, let's just say. Yeah. And, and I think, look, it, everybody is,
21:37
everybody, that's not their def- their default- Yeah... to do that. Um, but I do think everybody can- Right... if they decide that's something that they want to do, right? But I use the example of like, you know,
21:51
everybody is really awesome going to like a house party, but like very few people actually throw house parties. That's fair. Right? And so it's like, and that could be a, a whole range of things. Right.
22:02
But I think we kinda get into this sort of binary thing of like, well, if you don't throw a house party, then there's no area for you to have like value in a thing.
22:12
But you just mentioned several different examples- Yeah... right? It's like, okay, well, put together a newsletter. Yeah. Put together something that gives a few people some insights about something. Right.
22:21
You know, aggregate something that's gonna be helpful to people and send it out or find, you know, some articles and clip them- Yeah... out and, and send them.
22:29
Like, you could do all kinds of things to like add and create sort of value, but I think that people think it's like all or like nothing.
22:39
Or they just don't actually wanna do it, and that's a whole other kinda thing of like- Right... they actually don't want to add anything, and it's like, hey, this thing's here.
22:48
I should just be able to extract from it what other people have sort of- Right... built in it, and that shouldn't be a problem for anybody. And okay, I mean, that's one perspective to have on it.
22:59
I don't happen to have that perspective, but if that's what works for folks, then that's the way that they kinda, kinda operate, right? Yeah.
23:07
So I, I guess what I wonder is like is that strategy or the strategy that you used something that anybody can do, or does it require like a certain, you know, set of skills, curiosity, mindset, desire,
23:18
uh, all of them, some of them? I mean, I don't know. I mean, like I-- For me, I think there was a portion of like, one, yes, curiosity, right? Yeah. Curious about this. I wanna participate. Yeah.
23:29
And I wanna make sure that like I can add something to this thing that I am participating in. Right. Right? And so I think if you have those things, then that's pretty straightforward. Yeah.
23:41
It's not like, you know, I didn't create some massive thing. I didn't like, uh, develop, uh, you know, some, uh, institute or some kind of-- Like, it's just you show up and you volunteer. Like it's pretty- Yeah...
23:54
kinda to your point, like it's pretty straightforward, and actually in a lot of cases, kind of pretty basic. There's not a- Yeah... whole host of things that someone has to do to be able to, to, to deliver that.
24:05
But they do have to show up, and I think that's a piece that-You know, what is he, I don't know what the, I, I was gonna butcher the, the saying. It was like 90% of success is, like, showing up, right?
24:17
Like- Yeah, right... it's like- Which is, like, so right on for just, like, literally the event scene. You just kinda gotta go. You gotta show up. Like- Yeah...
24:23
you go to a bunch of places, you're, bunch of places, you help out. People say, "Hey, can you help with this? Can you do this? Can you help with that?" Yeah. It's like, "Sure, yeah, yeah. It's, it's no problem."
24:30
Like- Yeah... and you do certain kinds of things that, um, you know, are gonna be beneficial to others, and then when there's opportunities, you know, sometimes that it winds up being beneficial.
24:41
Now, I wanna be very clear, uh, just because you do a bunch of volunteering and just because you're helping people, the hope is that you're helping from a solid place because- Yeah...
24:50
you want to just, you know, move things along or contribute value, right?
24:56
Um, because sometimes there are cases where people do do a bunch of volunteering and a bunch of helping, and it doesn't move them further along, and they just are kind of in a bucket of people wanting them to help but not actually wanting to help them.
25:07
And that's the, the flip side of the coin in the reality. So there's, it isn't just- Yeah... blanketly, like, anything and everything.
25:15
Yes, you're just spending all of your time and energy, but I think if you can think about what are the things that you value, what are the areas that you're really passionate about- Right... that you can...
25:24
Because then what it does is it doesn't just enable you to sort of volunteer and help, but it should also be energizing you because it's something that you actually- Yeah...
25:32
enjoy doing and like doing and find value in doing. Um- Wait, why, why do you think that happens though? Because it kind of feels like, do you think it's that people don't know what you're...
25:43
Like, are, is it a, a communicating what you need or are looking for kinda thing?
25:46
Like, are people, you're volunteering, and you're very under-indexed on the stuff you're doing, so people don't actually know how to help you, therefore you're kinda stuck in a circle of always getting asked to volunteer 'cause they go, "You, you just must love volunteering," and, and you, you have to, you, to a degree, or you have to like to be in these rooms or meeting people to kinda keep going.
26:06
But, um, I would suspect that if people knew how they could help you, they would help you because you're being so helpful. Do you think, is that, do you think that's the reason- It-... one of the reasons?
26:15
Or is it like- It-... it's obviously more complicated than that- It-... but I wonder... it can be. I, I think it depends on, and this is again, this is, like, sort of multilayer.
26:21
It depends on what is the organization, like, what are the things that you're doing, how are you sort of showing up in those spaces, right? Yeah.
26:27
But it's not always the case that just because you're putting in a lot of energy into something that that means that that thing is going to then put energy into you. Mm. Right?
26:35
And so I think that who, depending upon who's there, depending upon how people are structured, depending upon, um, you know, who's running the organizations, what they can actually offer, right? Okay. Um,
26:49
but in, in essence, I mean, like, they, organizations should. Yeah. You're volunteering. You're helping them in some capacity. They should be looking for ways to, um,
27:00
help you as well, not on, like, a quid pro quo kind of thing, but, like, if there are opportunities to benefit other individuals who have clearly poured time and energy into it, they should be looking for those opportunities to help- Right...
27:13
those folks, right? Because why would you not? Yeah, that's- If someone's- Yeah... pouring into you, like, why would you not want to sort of pour into them, uh, to help them along the way?
27:22
But there are cases where people are like, "Hey, you just wanna sh- Oh, um, yeah, that's cool. I'm not interested in kinda spending any additional energy to make sure that you get to- Yeah...
27:31
a different place or that you get wherever. You just, this is what it is. You volunteer, you show up, and it's cool. It's like everybody's, everybody's fine." So I do think, though, that folks do need to
27:40
say something like, "Okay, this is what I'm looking for," or asking- Yeah... those organiz- "Hey, I'm looking for X, Y, and Z," or, "I'm looking for- True...
27:47
this," versus kind of the osmosis of, "Hey, you've been around for a while. Why don't we, you know, introduce you to this person or this thing?" Right. Um, there, there also is a,
27:57
I don't know, there's also a weird thing sometimes that happens where, and this I think happens across everything. This isn't just, like, volunteering.
28:05
This is just, like, you know, business and life and things in general. Um, as people are around- Yeah... you can sometimes start to just think of them as, like, a, a fixture. Hmm.
28:19
Like, you know, it's like a light switch, right? Yeah. It's like, okay, when you first got to z- a certain place, like, the light switch was awesome. You really loved the lights. Yeah.
28:25
And then after a while, it's just like, oh, that's just a light switch, right? Yeah.
28:29
And so you, you kind of have to make sure that as you are in organizations and as you are doing kind of things, that you do make it aware that you are looking for certain kinds of things. Mm.
28:38
Or, hey, when something comes up, if you've been volunteering, and they've just been asking you to do X, Y, and Z, the next time you volunteer, you should be like, "Hey, uh, I really would like to be on the team that does X," or- Yeah...
28:48
"I really would like to be here," or, "I would..." And that goes for, you know, people in employment. That goes for people who are volunteering. Right. That goes for business networks or wherever, right?
28:55
Like, uh, because onus is kind of on the individual sometimes to say, "Hey, you know what? If you want to
29:02
meet all the keynotes, and you've been volunteering for years someplace, you may say, "Hey, I would like to be on the team that gets an opportunity to connect with these people because this is- Sure...
29:11
what I wanna do," right? Do you, that, that makes a ton of sense. It's really interesting. Had you been, did you organize a lot of people before you started, before you came here and were starting to volunteer?
29:20
Was that... D- 'cause I feel like you've done it afterwards, or at least you were talking about some graduations and, and things of that later. Yeah.
29:27
But I was just kinda curious, like, w- were you like, "I've never done this before, but I'll just, like, r- raise my hand up," or in DC or, or in a previous life where you're like, "Oh, yeah, I've run a ton of events, therefore it's very easy to mentally to volunteer"?
29:38
Uh, I mean, I had, anything that I was, like, a part of or decided I wanted to spend my time on- Mm... I was always happy to help, like, organize. Okay.
29:50
So I don't think it was specifically, like, just when I got out here, right? I'll give a, a perfect example. Yeah. This is good. Like, so when I was in, uh, grad school, uh, out here in San Diego, like, um,
30:02
I noticed that, you know, there was a cadre of us, but, like, I only knew, like, a couple of people. Okay. Right? Uh, and I had a, a, kind of a, I guess, a work study kinda thing or whatever.
30:14
And so I was in the office one day- Mm-hmm... and I was asking one of my colleagues, I was like, "Hey, do, like, the grad students, like-... hang out? Like, is there like a thing that [laughs] people do?
30:21
[laughs] 'Cause like I've been here for a little while, and like I only know like three or more people outside of the orientation- Yeah... that we had. And there's how many in the orientation?
30:29
Uh, so there was like I think about 20 of us. Okay, got it. Um, and so, you know, she's like, "Oh yeah, we're all taking this one class, and then like afterwards we go out and like hang out for like beers."
30:41
And I was like, "Oh. Well, I'm not- Yeah [laughs]... in that class, so like what are people doing, right?" Yeah.
30:47
Uh, and so me and a buddy of mine, Danny, I was just like, "You know what, man, let's just organize a happy hour." Yeah. Like, we're just- Yeah, yeah, yeah... I'm just gonna tell people we're going to this spot.
30:56
I'll pick a different spot, uh, just around town.
31:00
Uh, and there was only one rule, which was you, we would, you couldn't recommend a space that was like, uh, you know, super convenient for you until you had gone to another, uh, event- Oh, I like that rule...
31:13
or another, like bar, right? You can't just be like, "Oh, well it's down the street, everybody should come over here." It's like, no, you gotta like... And so that was the only thing.
31:20
And, you know- It's a great rule, by the way... we didn't have an inordinate amount of people. It wasn't like 50, 60 people showed up. Yeah. Or, you know, it's like, but, you know, you get seven or sometimes 10.
31:29
It's a good number. Sometimes five, right? Like, but it was just like, "Hey, we can just do..." Like, what does it take to, for me to look at his face and be like, "Okay, we're gonna go there," right? Like- We'll fit.
31:40
[laughs] But people were like, "Oh, this is really cool that you kinda organized this." Yeah. And so like that kind of thing, where it's not, it's not overwhelming, but somebody- Yeah...
31:50
could do it, and people were like, "Oh, this is great," because like I wasn't in that class either, and I didn't know some of these folks, and I got a chance to just kinda- Yeah...
31:58
connect, like outside of class in a different kind of environment, a different kind of area. But like nobody- Yeah... asked me to kinda do that. It was just, "Okay, cool. We'll just have a happy hour."
32:07
It's like so simple though, 'cause it's like a, it's a happy hour, but it has like a recurring component, which is cool. Um, and there's like a rule. Yeah.
32:14
Like, I don't think, I, I don't think, I think, uh, I think it's easy to overthink a lot of this. Yeah. Needs to have a keynote, needs to have like the best food ever.
32:21
It's like, no, that place probably had food, and if you wanted to eat there, you can. You know, or whatever. And then it has like a rule that kinda makes it unique. Yeah. A, a little bit different. Yeah.
32:28
That's actually really fun. So- I, I really like that... so going from there, like, you know, just- So you had done some stuff, but I mean, it's like that's- Yeah, just helping out... sort of level one, right?
32:36
Just anything you show up with, it's like you can just help. Like- Yeah... it's not, yeah, it's not like a super complicated thing. You can just help. Yeah. You can help people.
32:46
You go to something, you go to something more than once. Yeah. Okay, cool, how can I help? Yeah. Is there ways that I can, you know, provide any kind of value? Right. You know, like, oh hey, go do this thing. Go- Yeah.
32:54
Move, move some, move some chairs is fine. Yeah. It's like- I love moving chairs. I do that at events a lot. Yeah, that's always- Hand out name tags, all the things. Yeah.
33:00
So I mean, but I think, I think that's a bigger, uh, piece of it in terms of just- Yeah... like, like organizing. Now, certainly for folks that are like, uh, organizing whole conferences and big thi- No...
33:12
like, there's a lot that goes into- Right... all of that logistically, and I don't think that anybody just initially is like, "Oh, I've never organized anything. Let me organize a, you know, a three-day conference."
33:23
And like, I mean, you could, but like that's probably not it. And so the steppingstones of like- Yeah... oh hey, you did a little bit here, did a little bit there. Okay. Hey, we'll put something together here.
33:31
We'll do something there. Yeah. Uh, I think is, is really important. And then, yeah, so then I got here, and okay, yeah, you guys are doing this thing. I really like Startup Weekend. Okay. Yeah.
33:41
I'll volunteer on the team. Right. Oh, hey, Startup Week. Oh, this is really cool. Like, I, I think this is, uh, an awesome thing- Yeah... and I wanna get involved. And so, okay, yeah, I'll spend some time volunteering.
33:50
It's like, oh, okay, hey, Fab Lab was downtown, and I was like, okay, hey, they do stuff. So yeah, I'll, I'll go- Yeah...
33:55
and I'll volunteer down there, 'cause I really wanted to learn about some stuff that they were doing down there with the CNC machines and laser cutters and- Oh, that's cool...
34:03
and like, it's like, okay, well, why, why not? Like, I think the- Yeah. I like it anyways, so I wanna be around the guy doing that, yeah. It's like, why... And them, they say, "Hey, you can come here.
34:10
You can do X, Y, and Z." Yeah, yeah. It's like, okay, that makes, that makes sense to me.
34:13
So- Wait, so okay, so tell, tell us what you're doing now, 'cause I was, I'd be curious, um, how you're gifting these lessons onto the companies that you're, you're sup- [laughs]... you're supporting. Interesting.
34:25
Or, or, or maybe not. I don't know. I don't, uh, they, I don't, I don't know, uh, you sort of push, uh, many folks sort of into
34:32
that, because I think it's, I think a lot of folks who have come through, uh, the programs- Yeah... um- And what i- what is that first? Tell- The, the Program Labs... so- And t- tell us what it is. Yeah.
34:41
And then maybe- So-... you can use some examples of like the current cohort. Sure. So the Program Labs, uh, supports organizations that are looking to build entrepreneurship programs. Cool.
34:49
Uh, so that might be if they want a small, uh, version with some workshops, or it could be much longer programs, uh, or physical spaces like the one that we're in right now. Yeah.
34:58
Is a partnership with the College of Continuing Education. Um- Right... and so that's what the Program Labs does. It's a nonprofit.
35:05
Uh, with respect to people sort of doing things, events, and organizing, I think there's just a lot of folks who across the entire, uh, spectrum of who we've worked with over the years do that, and it's their natural state of wanting to be a part of their, you know, respective communities.
35:20
Okay. Right? But it isn't something that from a business standpoint I'm like, "Oh, you need to go and organize," or, "Oh, you need to go and volunteer," or, "Oh, you need to go and do X, Y, and Z," right?
35:29
For the, for the companies. Right. Yeah. I'll, I'll tell people if anybody ever asks, like, "Hey, how'd you get plugged into here or there?"
35:33
I'll say, "Oh, well, I did this," or, "It may be a cool opportunity for you to go and do this." But everyone has whatever makes the most amount of sense for them. Yeah.
35:41
Because at the end of the day, like I might say, "Oh, hey, you know what? You should go volunteer for Startup Weekend." It's like, that doesn't actually make sense for what I'm doing or where I'm trying to go to.
35:51
It may be a different thing, right? Mm. Or it may be volunteering in a different way. A, a, a recent example, uh, of a couple colleagues that I talked to is about serving on nonprofit boards. Yeah. Right?
36:02
And so that's also a way for you to be able to make an impact and help, uh, organizations, and not just from like a fundraising standpoint, but from a capacity standpoint.
36:11
Or do you have a certain skill that that nonprofit could actually kinda use and, and build upon, right? Yeah. And so that's also making an impact, um-And taking that time to be able to do it, right?
36:23
But you don't always know exactly what the ROI is going to be. True. You just should think about it as like, "Hey, I'm showing up and I wanna provide- Right... value." And I, at least personally, have seen
36:36
doing that has put me in some cool positions to, one, learn a crazy amount- True...
36:43
really see a lot of the work that folks are doing, and then also get some pretty cool opportunities that came out of it when it was totally not expected, um, because I showed up and people were like, "Oh, okay, you're, you're here, you're invested in this, you do these things, so hey, there's this other thing over here that you might be actually kind of interested in."
37:05
Yeah. And it kind of aligns and, and dovetails without, in, in some cases, having to even ask- Yeah... about it. No, that makes a ton of sense.
37:13
'Cause I think it, you, you kind of, if you go too deep into, like, the LinkedIn DMs or whatever, it's a lot of asks for, for specific stuff.
37:21
But when you get out and you start seeing people over and over again, you're recognizing faces, you're kinda like y- you feel really, a lot more comfortable- Yeah... uh, with certain people.
37:30
I think that makes a ton of sense. What are you seeing-- What, what would you now-- I mean, what are you doing now to kinda stay connected in San Diego? 'Cause, um, you know, you're in a different position than you were.
37:39
Yeah. You, you've been here. Yeah. You know? So what... Yeah, what are you seeing in San Diego? What's, what's getting you excited, and how are you doing it? Uh, well, uh, you know, one is, uh,
37:49
making sure that I'm all up to date with The Social Coyote. Nice. So that's a, that's a plug. [laughs] No, but I mean, like- Didn't, didn't Matrix say- [laughs] Not really.
37:58
[laughs] So that's -- No, but I mean, like, seriously, like, that's what, that's one, one big thing in watching other people who are kind of taking the mantle and, like, literally sort of, like, running with it and creating new things- For sure...
38:08
that, like, haven't-- have been around in different iterations in San Diego. That's fair, right.
38:13
Um, but, like, oh, this is a cool newer version of, like, what those things are and in some cases a better version of, like, how those things are connected.
38:21
Uh, for me is I do quite a bit of, uh, nonprofit boards- Yeah... uh, that I serve on.
38:27
So I'm on a few, few of those that I think, um, is helpful, uh, in terms of continuing in, in, uh, sort of what, what I would call sort of the social impact space. Yeah. Um, and so that's been a big one.
38:40
Um, yeah, still if folks ask me to do sort of workshops and stuff like that for organizations, like I'm doing one, uh, in a couple days for, uh, Logan Heights- That's cool... uh, CDC.
38:51
So they're like, "Hey, can you come in and do one?" Like, sure. Yeah. Or, or there's one I was- Yeah... up in San Marcos doing one.
38:55
So it's like those kinds of things I think are, are kind of the, the bigger pieces- Right... of just, you know, helping out, volunteering, still trying to provide, uh- That's true...
39:06
help and resources in ways that- Yeah... uh, in ways that I can. 'Cause a board, a board is a volunteer position. It's funny, you, like, literally built this entire thing on volunteering- Yeah... for the most part. Yeah.
39:15
A lot. [laughs] Which is, which is cool because, like, I think a board also is like a, it's a, a, if constructed correctly, like a collaboration of a lot of different people from different groups. Yeah.
39:26
And so in some ways, I don't know, I'd, I guess I'd be curious, like, how does that op- That must open up a lot more doors than you'd think, having, you know, getting to see people on kind of a recurring basis. Yeah.
39:36
I mean, and, and there's different relationships that you can build sort of, uh, on boards.
39:40
Um, for me, one of the biggest reasons why I decided to even join boards was because it was like, well, this is a kind of an inside baseball type thing- That's true. That's right...
39:49
of being able to see how stuff- Yeah... actually operates. Yeah. Right? Uh, and then for me it's like, oh, this is really interesting, and actually in, uh, unique ways, and sometimes I don't always know exactly how, um,
40:04
how some of the things kinda came to, to be. So like I'm- Yeah... on the San Diego State Research Foundation board. That's cool. Yeah. Wait.
40:09
I, like, there wasn't like a jockeying of me being like, "Oh, well, I'm- I'm going now. Yeah... I'm gonna try to figure out how to- Yeah... get here." But- Right, right, right...
40:16
um, there was, um, uh, Professor Ernie said, "Hey, you may be interested in this," and submitted my name. They met me and they were like, "Oh, yeah, this could be interesting. You working on this?" Like- Yeah...
40:25
"Okay, cool." And so but you learn a lot about how those kinds of things are structured, and how the university's structured and what they're doing, and some of the work that's happening there. That's wonderful.
40:33
On the Neighborhood House Association board, you learn about their work in the community and- Yeah... how they're doing things along the lines with, like, Head Start and education.
40:40
And, like, uh, now I'm on the Alliance Healthcare Foundation, a couple of committees. So I'm not on their- Yeah... board, but on a couple committees. Their audit committee and their impact investment committee.
40:48
So it's like, okay, now I'm learning a little bit more about how- Right. Nice... those things sort of structure and work, right? Yeah.
40:52
Now, I don't know what always those specifics are going to be and when they are going to be helpful, but I trust that learning things and understanding how structures work, how organizations work, how nonprofits work at scale- Yeah...
41:05
are really important as I operate a nonprofit, right? Right. And so how am I thinking through different kinds of things, and what are different challenges?
41:14
I mean, you know, obviously I have a long way to go before I am the size of, uh, San Diego State Research Foundation, right? Like, it's, that's, that's, that's a 40-year kind of plan.
41:22
But, like, uh, or, or longer actually. Um, but it, it does instruct in some cases about, okay, well, have I ever thought about this, or have I- Yeah... ever thought about that?
41:34
And it also allows for me to bring my perspective to, to, to them or ask certain questions about different kinds of things as they are- That's true... you know, doing different kinds of challenges and stuff like that.
41:43
So it's been cool. That is cool. It's kinda, you know, you kinda look back on it and, and I've heard kind of varying feedback of people saying, "I don't, you know, I don't, uh, public events, not for me.
41:53
I don't think that's the right strategy." And I think that can be true if you've already kind of built a bit of a base.
41:57
But f- from my experience, and it sounds like from your experience, it's like you go to public stuff, you start recognizing some faces, they recognize you.
42:04
They say, "Hey, I've seen you around a little bit," like, "I'm doing this other thing," or, "Do you wanna do this small thing," or, "Do you wanna be invited on a, on a board eventually?" Yeah. Or, you know.
42:12
And then from there it's like, now you do some public stuff. Yeah. And then maybe you get some private stuff- Yeah... and you, and you start to meet a new group of people.
42:17
But it, from my experience at least, you know, it started just showing up in places that other people organized, and you sometimes offer help, but just being there and being like, "Oh, wow, I've seen you three times now," like, "What's, what's up?
42:28
What's your deal? What are you doing?" And then, you know, it kind of builds upon that. So I think I personally like that strategy a lot, but it's not for everybody.
42:35
Well, I, I mean, I think the thing is, like, it is-At the end of the day, it's about developing comfort and trust. Yeah.
42:42
And like that can be done through repetition, it can be done through, uh, devel- you know, delivering value. Yeah. It could be, like there's a lot of different ways you can get to that point.
42:52
Um, but for folks that, you know, if you wanna be able to -- And let me be, be very clear about it, right? Like it was the space and places that I was curious about and I wanted to be in. Yes.
43:05
Like, I'm not like get-- 'Cause sometimes people are like, "Oh, well, you're just like everywhere doing..." Like, yeah, but it was all stuff that like, oh, this is interesting. I actually want to learn about- Right...
43:14
these things, right? This is why I'm here, right? Okay, I actually wanna learn about this thing, or I actually wanna be around other people who are doing some of these similar kinds of things.
43:24
And so, oh, okay, we'll organize something, or we'll, I'll help with something, or I'll do- Right... like, um.
43:30
And so I think that's more along the lines, because then it doesn't feel like, oh man, I'm just show- 'Cause you can tell sometimes when people are kinda there only because they plan on getting something. Yep.
43:41
They're like, "Well, someone told me I should come to this thing, and I didn't wanna pay for a ticket, so I'm just gonna volunteer and then try to like not do-" Yeah... "any work and talk to every..."
43:53
But like, and that's not the route to go either, right? Well, that, that- Like, you don't wanna, you don't wanna do that, like. That comm- the comm- the, the community that you're in will notice. Yeah.
44:02
And that, that actually happens pretty quick. It's a, it's a, it's a challenge. But you see people, and it was like, "Hey, could you, like, do something?" Yeah. Right?
44:10
And like, you don't wanna have to, you don't wanna be one of those volunteers where it's like people are like, "Hey." Yeah.
44:14
You're kinda just like sitting on your phone and not actually like helping people do stuff, right? Like- It's true...
44:20
but it, it happens, and I've had that happen with events that, uh, you know, I've been a part of and other things like that. But, but again, like peop- people will know, and people will tell.
44:31
And so then when there's other opportunities, like folks will be like, well, I'm not... Like, you're not gonna be top of mind- Yeah... to help someone when that kinda pops up because you really haven't,
44:43
I don't know, you haven't, uh, you haven't actually provided the thing that you said that you were gonna provide, which is helping somebody with the event that they- Yeah... needed to kinda put on.
44:52
Man, Alex, I could keep, keep talking about this all day. Well, I appreciate you, uh, showing up. Yeah. Hell yeah. Calling up SD, pack knows low-key. Found in the wild, yeah, they tracked me through the feed.
45:03
Howl in the night, not a whole current sink. Two new necks deep before we order a drink. Wild been so low, now you walk out with friends. Social coyote, step into the den. Hell yeah. Thanks for stepping into the den.
45:16
We'll be back next week with another conversation. But until then, get out there, meet someone new, and go build something.
Into the Den
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