Founders & Builders Night in Bucharest: Why We Banned “What Do You Do?”

Don't start with “what do you do?”

That was one of the instructions I gave at our Founders & Builders Night.

As entrepreneurs, we love talking about our work. Our company. Our product.

But that's not how people connect.

Break the ice first. Business second.

So instead, everyone started with prompts like:

• If I went to the Olympics, I'd compete in _____.
• If I set my phone's wallpaper to a celebrity crush, it would be _____.
• One city I'd love to move to is _____.
• The series I've enjoyed most on Netflix this year was _____.

Only after the ice was broken did we talk business.

The honest version of founder talk

And even then, it wasn't about what our products solve. It was the real stuff. Here's some of what I overheard:

• “One thing I'm having a hard time with is selling.”
• “You've got to write your priorities down on paper every morning.”
• “AI has helped us reduce our staff from 30 to 18.”
• “I'm having a hard time keeping my people motivated.”

That's the conversation founders rarely get to have at a typical Bucharest startup event. Nobody's pitching. Everybody's a little more honest.

People connected. Everyone swapped contact details. Guests stayed until the bar closed, and a few of us went on to dinner and were out until midnight.

Thank you to everyone who made this such a good 3rd Space Bucharest night.