LinkedIn Alternatives For Startup Founders That Want to Network with Intention

Your network = your net worth.

Networking is essential, especially for first-time founders. With a strong network, who can give you feedback, insights, and support, your launch will be a smooth uphill climb.

LinkedIn may be the first place that jumps to mind for building a startup network. With over 900 million members in 200 countries, there’s no shortage of experts and potential mentors. Yet, the size of the platform and its reputation for spammy sales messages can make it tough to make genuine connections.

The Limitations of LinkedIn for Startup Networking

If you use LinkedIn, you’re aware of the daily spam messages in your inbox. The prolific spam on the platform makes it difficult to sort genuine requests from fake ones, so responding to LinkedIn messages is a chore many people don’t bother with.

Last year, the company implemented several measures (including removing 70.8 million spam messages) to try and limit the number of unsolicited inbox messages people receive. Despite this, there is still prolific spam on the professional networking platform.

Mentors, investors, and well-respected people in your industry are busy and don’t have the time to sift through the spam in their LinkedIn inboxes. If you want to find a mentor and get your name out there on the networking platform, it will be hard to stand out from the crowd.

New inbox filters and rules about how you can land in a LinkedIn inbox have made reaching the person you intended even more challenging for your message. Response rates to cold outreach on LinkedIn are higher than email but still very low.

The other drawback of LinkedIn is it’s predominantly used by job seekers, with 49 million people using it each week to look for job opportunities. This focus on job seeking makes it difficult to find people who aren’t solely looking for career opportunities.

If you want to make professional connections, you’ll spend a long time trying to find people who aren’t trying to sell you something or looking for new job openings.

LinkedIn has limited virtual mentorship opportunities; finding people open to mentoring via LinkedIn takes a lot of work. While dozens of groups claim to be for startup mentorship, it’s impossible to know which ones are legitimate and the credentials of the professionals who run them.

Below is an assortment of groups that rank highest for “startup mentorship” on the platform. Membership is low in all the groups, and it’s impossible to tell which are worth your time.

If building a startup network using LinkedIn still sounds appealing to you, your best strategy would be to ask for introductions to relevant business professionals from your existing network. An intro from a mutual connection legitimizes your request and could get you noticed.

The Benefits of LinkedIn Alternatives for Startup Networking

If you’re looking for professional networking alternatives to LinkedIn, joining groups or communities specifically for founders, entrepreneurs, and startups is a better use of your time.

Whether you want to become part of large existing online communities for startups such as Indie Hackers, Future Founders, or a smaller, more specific community, connecting with like-minded professionals online has never been easier. You just need to know where to look.

Choosing a LinkedIn alternative means you’ll have access to a much more targeted network of professionals, many of whom are open to sharing honest career advice. When you choose a community of other professionals keen to share knowledge and learn from, you’re more likely to find a relevant mentor and build lasting relationships.

There are dozens of platforms where you can find interesting professionals from established companies and in your niche who want to share ideas and insights. Take a look at the following:

Online Communities for Entrepreneurs

1. Slack and Discord channels

Check for channels relevant to your business or niche. If you’re stuck on which community to join, check out this list of 24 of the best Slack channels for founders.

You can check out the best Discord groups for entrepreneurs and marketers here.

These groups are a great alternative to a social networking site, as you can post questions, ask for feedback and connect with other members for a one-to-one conversation. You can also post job listings and seek expertise from a very active and vibrant community.

Many of these channels aren’t public, and you’ll need to get verified to join, making them such a great LinkedIn alternative because it means way less spam.

2. Virtual mentorship platforms

Platforms dedicated to connecting mentors and mentees are a much better way to up your networking game than random LinkedIn searches.

If you want to connect with someone with relevant expertise or experience in specific industries, you’re more likely to find them on a virtual mentoring platform.

You can find virtual mentorship opportunities on GrowthMentor, which has thousands of vetted mentors who genuinely want to help other founders succeed. Unlike LinkedIn, the networking site isn’t about self-promotion but making meaningful, lasting connections.

You can search for mentors by their expertise and get chatting with someone who has genuinely valuable information for you.

3. Startup networking platforms

• If you’re new to the startup world, joining an existing community with a large user base, such as Product Hunt or Startup Sauce, can help you make relevant connections.
• StartupNation offers founders thousands of resources and a forum for site members where you can interact with other members and post and answer questions.
• Startup Grind is the world’s largest community of entrepreneurs which includes advice, events, job boards, and access to educational materials.
• Platforms like SCORE and MicroMentor are great LinkedIn alternatives if you’re looking for small business expertise. These platforms help connect you to a relevant mentor and have many valuable resources for aspiring entrepreneurs.

By becoming an active member of these startup networking platforms and adding value, you can rapidly expand your network among the startup community.

Check out this post for more inspiration on communities for building a startup network.

4. Communities to find funding

If your main goal is securing investment, join a community designed to introduce entrepreneurs and investors to one another.

• Gust is a great platform full of resources about raising funding and gives you access to other founders searching for investors.
• Founders Network is a community of founders that helps each other out and connects entrepreneurs with investors. You can join the community by invitation only.
• Smash.vc is a startup newsletter and investment community. The team focuses on creating partnerships with bootstrapped founders.

In Real Life

1. Meetup

If you’re looking for local events to meet local professionals in your industry, check out MeetUp for local entrepreneur meetups.

Many of the online platforms mentioned above also host in-person events worldwide. So if you would rather meet people in real life than through a screen, check out the event calendars of the online community you choose.

Meeting people in real life is an excellent alternative to LinkedIn. Having a mentor you have a genuine personal connection with can make your mentorship journey much smoother.

2. Global events

You can check out startup-focused organizations hosting professional networking events worldwide for more LinkedIn alternatives. For example, organizations like SaaStock and Startup Week run regular events in major cities.

CitySquads offered by GrowthMentor are another option if you want to mingle with startup people from your city.

3. Startup accelerators

If your professional networking goal is connecting with angel investors, you may want to check out the best startup accelerators in your country or city.

Getting accepted into an accelerator program will help you meet others with similar professional aspirations and give you opportunities for pitching to investors.

Check out the 52 best accelerators here.

5 Tips for Using Alternative Platforms for Startup Networking

If you sign up for one of these communities or platforms and want to find a mentor or build a network, there are a few ground rules to follow.

It’s not good etiquette to sign up for a startup community and immediately start spamming people with your latest product idea. You must also add value to the community and offer feedback and advice to others who ask for it.

Here are some online business networking tips to keep in mind if you’re new to online communities for founders and entrepreneurs:

1. Be clear about your goals

Before joining online networking communities, think about your goals and write down how a mentor can support you. What can you bring to the community, and how can your knowledge benefit others?

2. Be targeted

Be targeted in finding connections and a mentor, and look for people with relevant experience and expertise to your business. If you run a fintech startup, approaching people with health tech expertise may not score you a mentor who’s an excellent fit for your business.

3. Respect your mentor

Once you connect with a potential mentor, be respectful of their time and prepared to answer all their questions so they can quickly understand your needs. Be polite in your outreach and clear about your needs and why you chose them.

4. Reciprocate

Build a strong profile and showcase your expertise; community involvement involves giving and receiving advice.

5. Be active

Proactively participating in discussions and engaging with other community members will help you grow your network faster.

Don’t be afraid to give and ask for intros. Connecting relevant people with one another can help boost your reputation in your community and help people think of you the next time they want to make an intro.

Start Growing Your Startup Through Networking

As the old saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved, and going it alone as a startup founder is extremely tough. Building a solid network of people who support your vision and want to help you on the road to success is an integral part of the entrepreneurial journey.

The great thing is that thousands of others want to share their expertise with you and make your journey easier. By becoming a member of a professional networking community, you’ll have access to the insights of those further down the road.

Whether you’re looking for a mentor, strategic advisors, or new staff members, checking out LinkedIn alternatives is worthwhile if you’re looking to make valuable industry connections. Skip the spam, and connect with real people who genuinely want to exchange ideas and advice with you.

If you’re looking to build your network, get advice on funding (62 mentors on the platform), or connecting with angel investors (we have 11), try GrowthMentor. You’ll get support and feedback 100% tailored to you from experts who are actually “doing the things” and not just writing about it on LinkedIn.