Connect For A Cause Launches Nationally

You guys might remember a series I did a year ago about the Launchpad start-up accelerator in New Orleans and some of the companies that were coming out of their IGNITION incubator. One of the companies I highlighted that would be particularly useful to prospective finance professionals was Connect For A Cause - a networking service where you could bid to have lunch with BSDs and the money goes to the charity of their choice.

Well, I'm pleased to announce that Connect For A Cause just launched nationally last week, and they've got some high-profile folks signed up around the country. At the moment in New York, you can bid on lunch with Shai Goldman of 500 Startups, and shortly after his auction Jeff Silverman of Laconia Ventures is on deck. I know I'd be willing to spend $50 (and a hell of a lot more) for an hour with either one of those two.

Here's how it works: You go to the Connect For A Cause website and choose your city (or any city, if you're willing to travel). You can either choose from the professionals who've already signed up, or you can ask Connect For A Cause to get in touch with someone you'd like to meet who isn't on the list yet. Then you bid on lunch. High bidder wins it, and lunch is then arranged.

I don't have to tell you guys the networking potential I see in this company. I'm not saying you can leapfrog the recruiting process and land an FO slot over lunch with Lloyd Blankfein, but what a great way to expand your professional network as long as you're not a creep (and nobody on WSO is creepy, right?).

Now that they've launched nationally, I'm willing to bet that New York is one of the company's targets for massive expansion. So here's where we at WSO can maybe help them out a little bit. Keep in mind, these guys are from New Orleans like me, so they probably don't know who young Wall Street would most like to sit down with.

Who would you guys pay to have lunch with, and what would you be willing to pay? Let's get a list of New Yorkers for these guys to target. Everybody likes to raise money for charity and this is a great way to do it. Let me (and Jason, of course) know in the comments who you'd most like to meet in New York and I'll make sure Connect For A Cause gets the word.