Networking for Young Entrepreneurs | Young Founder’s Playbook with Adie Part 1

Before joining LaunchX as Head of Growth, Adie Akuffo-Afful built his career across venture capital, founder ecosystems, and startup partnerships. During his time at Wefunder - one of the largest equity crowdfunding platforms in the U.S. - Adie worked closely with founders raising capital and building early traction. Through partnerships, fundraising strategy, and founder support, he developed a deep understanding of how relationships shape startup growth from day one.

Adie’s perspective is clear: for young founders, networking isn’t optional but foundational.

Being Young Is An Advantage

For many young founders, networking can feel like entering a room where everyone else already knows what they’re doing and you’re the odd one out. Adie believes networking tends to get easier when you care less about impressing people and more about building genuine connections.

Many young founders don’t network at all because they’re afraid of looking inexperienced. Ironically, that fear is what slows them down the most. One of the biggest mindset shifts for young entrepreneurs is realizing that being young is actually an advantage. There’s more room to experiment, ask questions, and learn publicly without long-term consequences. That freedom makes networking less about performance and more about curiosity.

Adie recommends starting with simple, accessible channels:

• LinkedIn outreach
• Startup events (e.g., Startup Grind)
• City entrepreneurship meetups
• Student-focused communities (e.g., Major League Hacking)
• Business competitions and incubator programs

The most important part, however, isn’t where you network; it’s how.

Be Clear About What You Want

When reaching out to someone, Adie emphasizes being transparent about your intention. If you want advice, say so. If you want to learn about their industry, say so. If you want feedback on your startup, absolutely say so. Senior professionals are much more likely to respond when your ask is clear and respectful of their time.

Dare To Ask For Help

Another important part of networking as a young founder is simply being willing to ask for help. Many early entrepreneurs hesitate to reach out because they worry about appearing inexperienced, but in reality, people are often more willing to support young builders than you might expect. Advisors, mentors, and even peers generally want to see motivated young individuals succeed. At the same time, that support comes with responsibility. When mentors or advisors choose to guide you, they are often putting their own reputation behind you. That’s why transparency matters not only when things are going well, but also when you encounter challenges or uncertainty. Being open about both successes and hurdles builds trust and strengthens the relationship over time.

Find The Right Mentor

Another key insight: find mentors who are only a few steps ahead of you. Considering the ever-changing landscape of entrepreneurship in the age of technology, someone two or three years further along often has a more realistic understanding of your challenges than someone decades into their career, and is more likely to open doors that feel immediately relevant. Mentors may change as your company grows, and that’s normal. Founders often “graduate” from mentors as they enter new stages or industries. What matters is maintaining honesty, respect, and openness to learning throughout the journey.

Relationship-Building Over Transaction

For Adie, networking has always been rooted in relationship-building rather than transactions. At 18, he met a mentor through a business plan competition who later helped him secure an internship at a venture capital fund - an experience that gave him early insight into what makes a company investable. That moment reinforced an important lesson: meaningful connections often begin with simple, honest conversations.

Over time, this idea became simple:

The 3 Rules of Networking as a Young Founder:

1. Be clear.
Know why you're reaching out and respect people’s time.

2. Be curious.
Ask thoughtful questions. Listen more than you talk.

3. Be consistent.
Follow up. Stay in touch. Relationships grow over time.

Networking should never be about collecting contacts, but about building trust, asking thoughtful questions, and staying curious. The relationships you build early in your journey often become the foundation for opportunities, partnerships, and growth later on.

Start early. Be honest. Stay curious. The rest builds from there.