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Chris Sacca's Secret: Be Helpful Before You Ask for Anything

By Chris Sacca · Marketing · 1 min read

Sacca says nobody in Silicon Valley asks where you went to school. They ask: how can you help me right now? That's how every opportunity came to him.

Key Points

Being helpful is the secret to every opportunity
Create value before you ask for value back
Show up with work done — Ryan Graves signed 20 deals for Foursquare without asking permission

If I had one thing that has been the secret to the opportunities that have come for me, it's just being helpful.

Nobody Asks Your Credentials

Sacca: We're really lucky in Silicon Valley that nobody asks where you went to school. Nobody asks what your parents do for a living. Instead they're just like — how can you help me right now? I'm in the weeds, I need some help, what's your feedback on this?

If you're insightful and you're helpful, people just grab you and pull you in. If I had one thing that's been the secret to the opportunities that have come for me, it's just being helpful.

If you're insightful and helpful, people just grab you and pull you in.

How Sacca Got Into Square

Sacca: I wanted to get into Square really bad. But they were well on their way. They had raised cash, there was no room to get in.

So we shot a really awesome little HD video demoing the device. At the time they didn't have any videos online. I showed it to Jack Dorsey and he's like — holy shit, that's awesome. I started helping him out with some other things. All of a sudden he's like — you know what, I got a little room for you to get in here, because you've been really helpful launching this product.

Create value before you ask for value back. Don't ask permission. Don't have a pre-existing deal. Just put together something helpful.

Create value before you ask for value back.

Ryan Graves and Foursquare

Sacca: Ryan Graves — he's now the number two executive at Uber. Before that, he really wanted a job at Foursquare. He applied through the main channels. Didn't get the attention he wanted.

So he went around Chicago and signed up 20 mayor deals. He didn't ask Foursquare for permission. He just went to the venues himself. Then he went to New York and presented those deals — hey, I've been out hustling in Chicago, I just signed you up 20 big venues.

If somebody shows up in your office with that kind of deal, that guy's going to get a job.

He signed up 20 deals without asking permission. Then he showed up and presented them. That guy's going to get a job.