Once or twice a month, I’m introduced to someone who wants to plug into the local startup community. Sometimes it’s a person new to town. Other times it’s someone who has been here for a few years, heads down in their work, and is now at a career crossroads. And occasionally, it’s someone who’s simply curious about startups.

When I meet with them, I always start by trying to understand their intentions. Why do they want to connect with other entrepreneurs? Are they looking to make money? To give back? To become an entrepreneur themselves and start building a peer group? Or do they have other motives? You can never be entirely sure, but after doing this for years, I usually get a pretty good sense of someone’s intentions.

Once I understand the why, I like to dig into their areas of interest. This could be specific industries or technologies—software, hardware, robotics, cloud, AI—or even the size and stage of startups they’re drawn to. Some people love the energy of the idea and seed stage, when things are the messiest. Most, however, prefer companies that are a little further along—likely post–product-market fit, with $1–10 million in revenue. There’s no right or wrong answer, but it’s a helpful data point in understanding where their curiosity lies.

Next, I ask about their process so far. Who have they talked to? What events have they attended? Which organizations are they curious about? What startups seem most interesting to them? Part of this is my own curiosity about how people find their way into a community, and part of it is to gauge their current progress so I can offer relevant advice or introductions.

Finally, after all the questions and conversation, I share recommendations. Usually it’s a mix of checking out the websites of local coworking spaces and incubators, attending venture conferences or meetups, and connecting with specific entrepreneurs and executives I know. I try to introduce them to people who enjoy meeting newcomers and who would be a good fit based on what I’ve learned.

Plugging into a local startup community should be relatively easy with the right amount of effort. Entrepreneurs are, by nature, glass-half-full types who enjoy paying it forward. In fact, that’s one of the things I love most about them: they see potential in the world and choose to create, build, and persist in the face of adversity. That same “can-do” attitude extends beyond their own ventures and into helping others along the way.