Ten Thousand Coffees: Expert and Novice Agree Program Takes the Anxiety out of Networking

By Roderick Benns

What happens when a second year university student with an interest in corporate social responsibility and a veteran fundraiser meet for coffee? From a networking perspective, the answer from both of them is a dynamite opportunity for understanding.

Camille Galindez, a political science student at University of Toronto, and Paul Nazareth, Manager, Philanthropic Advisory Services, Scotia Private Client Group, were taking advantage of ‘Ten Thousand Coffees,’ a digital platform that connects students, recent grads and young professionals with industry leaders.

By having industry leaders share insights and inspire future opportunities for a younger generation, the Ten Thousand Coffees movement is based on the notion that great conversations begin with a cup of coffee.

Early adopters of the program include Rick Mercer, George Stroumboulopoulos, Kirstine Stewart, Bruce Croxon as well as executives from Samsung Canada, Facebook Canada, L’Oreal, TIFF and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Galindez says she “really liked the idea of mentoring and networking” and thought it was important to gain insights from people who had already accomplished a great deal. It has also helped take the anxiousness away from networking. Her meeting with Nazareth is her fourth ‘coffee meeting’ through the Ten Thousand Coffees program.

“Text books can only tell you so much. I like the concept – the time in between school and the workforce is very important,” she tells Leaders and Legacies.

Galindez says being a social sciences student is not the same experience as being a business student or in other programs where the importance of networking is built right in.

“I have to find those networking experiences myself.”

 

Nazareth, on the other hand, is a self-described “networking enthusiast.” Like Galindez, he says the Ten Thousand Coffees process has taken the anxiety away from the process for younger people.

“One of the scariest things is, they don’t know how to initiate conversations that might lead to a better understanding of what they need to do. There’s nowhere in our education world that teaches how to do this in a natural way.”

Nazareth says a post-secondary education is not the place to learn this.

“Schools are constantly, god love them, pushing more school and students go back when the economy looks choppy. Business owners say ‘go get your hands dirty and get your boots on the ground’ – there has to be a happy medium of technical and real-world education. Mentors are one solution.”

According to a recent Gallup poll Nazareth may be on to something. The poll shows that 84 per cent of business leader respondents ranked a candidate’s knowledge in a particular field as “very important,” while only 28 per cent felt the same way about a candidate’s college or university major.

In addition to his role at Scotia Private Client Group, Nazareth teaches fundraising at Georgian College through an online course. He is also chair of the advisory committee at Humber College’s fundraising program.

“Curriculum gets outdated, that’s why colleges and universities are embracing mentoring more than ever. Learning from people in the profession can be a big advantage. I told Camille and I tell others, ‘take your time – school is important – but also take the next two years to have 10 meetings with leaders and read the books and journals they recommend. It’s critical for students to be thinking about this now.”

Nazareth is a big believer in building one’s own “personal board of networkers.” He says there are some people who teach us business skills, others sales, and still others technical things.

“Some are disruptors, who challenge the way we think, and others might hone what we already know,” he says.

He points out that these people may never meet one another, but by cultivating a broad range of expertise it can help in the future.

“There’s a ton of education from others that people can take away.”

For Galindez, after meeting with Nazareth she says she now realizes there are other paths to take besides the education she is getting.

“In university you’re taught this boxed-in idea that university will equal career automatically and you’re on a set path. He showed me there are other options, based on other experiences not directly tied to academia.”

While also going to school, Galindez volunteers at ‘Trek for Teens,’ a not-for-profit group set up by youth that raises funds and awareness for youth homelessness. She also has a strong interest in corporate social responsibility, which made her connection with Paul quite valued.

“I hope to stay in touch with Paul. He has so many great ideas and resources for someone of my generation. There’s a real lack of connection between generation X and baby boomers.”

As for Nazareth, he says it was a valuable experience for him, too.

“People like Camille keep me up to date on the climate inside the education world. I’m 37 now, with a couple of kids, so I’m not on the ground in the same way. I’m trying to help clients fund social change for young people, so I certainly need to be able to understand them and their challenges.”

Nazareth points out that Ten Thousand Coffees is disrupting the status quo for networking.

“I’m a big LinkedIn fan but Ten Thousand Coffees is bringing an amazing process to informal networking. It’s becoming a true engine of great mentoring.”