Back in July, the good folks at First Round Capital came to Cincinnati and held “Office Hours” with local entrepreneurs.  As they describe it:

One of the greatest opportunities in college was Office Hours. Every professor held them and suddenly became accessible. It was a few minutes where you could walk-in, sit down, ask questions, develop a relationship and catch a professor in an informal environment. We think the same opportunity for dialogue should exist for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists….  At Office Hours, we’d love to meet with entrepreneurs, people thinking about becoming entrepreneurs or folks who would like to join a start-up.

I loved this concept but honestly hadn’t thought much more about it until I read a post by Bill Taylor on “the rise of office hours in business and finance.”  Bill makes the point that it may be “time to transport that familiar ritual [of Office Hours] from the Ivory Tower to the halls of business.  He points to the efforts of Jason Fried at 37signals, Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner, and Flybridge Capital’s Chip Hazard as proof in this rising trend.

This really got me thinking.  I have always been a big believer of setting up meetings with smart folks just to talk about what’s going on.  I have often found these to be the most productive meetings and the ones that lead to the most interesting conversations and opportunities.  But in most cases, they are meetings that I have to set up weeks in advance in order to make it on my calendar.

So I’m thinking Office Hours might just be an alternative for me to try.  As Bill Taylor points out, it’s nothing fancy…nothing all that cutting edge,” but it could be a fun experiment for me to try both in Cincinnati and when I’m on the road traveling (like today to Boulder, CO).  It would be a chance for me to meet with anyone that is up to something fun in the world of marketing, media and technology.   This could be a start-up looking to get the opinion of a Brand Manager or maybe just a company looking to bounce some digital marketing ideas around.  I am hoping it would be a chance for me to learn as much for the people that stop by as they learn from me.

So what do you think about the idea?  Is something you would be interested in seeing me do?  If so, any suggestions on a format?  It seems like 20 minute blocks of time are pretty standard.  And for a location some go for an actual office while others lean towards the more informal environment of a coffee house or restaurant / bar.  The location also dictates what time of day / day of the week is best.

I would love to hear your thoughts.