Hiten - you have roughly over 23,000 twitter followers and you are certainly a tech star! How often do you get contacted from someone asking to, "meet up and pick your brain?" How do you vet these people? How do you balance giving back to a community of rising stars (similar to where you once were when you started) vs. spending too much of your time doing things of this nature? Any good tips/tools you use or can suggest?

I get contacted on a daily basis. A lot of the time I’ll setup a 10 – 15 minute call with someone instead of meeting up with them in person. I don’t typically try to vet people, though it happens a bit automatically depending on how they reached out. I get a lot of introductions from people I trust / respect. I try to make helping others and talking to them as part of my daily routine. The balance comes as a result of wanting to do it more than forcing myself to do it. I am on a “managers” schedule most of the time versus a “makers” schedule. See more about that here: http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

you type:	you see:
italics	italics
* item 1 * item 2 * item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
1. item 1 2. item 2 3. item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
Paragraphs are separated by one or more blank lines: The first paragraph. Another paragraph.	The first paragraph. Another paragraph

How often do you get contacted from someone asking to, "meet up and pick your brain?" How do you vet these people? How do you balance giving back to a community of rising s...

Answered by Dan Martell – Founder & Investor.

I always say "send me an email, it's best to start there - let me know how I can help?". I get more leverage speaking at an event, blogging or sharing my ideas on Twitter ... (more)

You have been on Oprah, are an amazing story, and certainly a tech star! How often do you get contacted from someone asking to, "meet up and pick your brain?" How do you ve...

Answered by Gurbaksh Chahal – Founder, BlueLithium, ClickAgents and gWallet

I spend 90% of my time as a CEO. And 10% of my time giving back to the community and philanthropy. (more)

How often do you get contacted from someone asking to, "meet up and pick your brain?" How do you vet these people? How do you balance giving back to a community of rising s...

Answered by Dan Martell – Founder & Investor.

At least 20x a week. Unfortunately (for right now - heads down with Flowtown and other commitments) the default answer is no. The only way to get passed that is a warm in... (more)

You're a tech star! How often do you get contacted from someone asking to 'meet up and pick your brain''? How do you vet these people? How do you balance 'giving back to...

Answered by Aaron Patzer – Founder of Mint.com

I try to do events like this to satisfy several hundred people at once, and teach regularly at the Founder Institute. If you want regular access to me, people like Phil Li... (more)

Craig - you are the founder of craigslist!!! I can't imagine how often you get contacted by someone asking to meet with you for a, "quick cup of coffee" or "just a minute o...

Answered by Craig Newmark – Founder of craigslist.

I guess I do get contacted often, and pretty much wing it every time. Mostly these days that involves nonprofits. It helps to get my attention to bring along a dog, and I ... (more)

Sign up for Sprouter