Ask any entrepreneur how they started their first business and I’m pretty sure you won’t hear anyone talking about an application process. Applications are for people who are looking for a job. That’s not an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs don’t put their fate in other people’s hands. They don’t ask permission to start doing something, they just do it.

This is why I find groups who treat building an entrepreneurial community like it’s a hiring or match making process puzzling. They take applications and screen candidates. They review, dismiss and narrow down who and what they’re looking for. Some of them even charge for it. Are they short on time? Are they trying to filter out the riffraff? I’d bet it’s a little of both but neither is a good decision.

The social web is one giant filter. It’s validation. It’s transparency. It proves you are who you say you are and that you have the experience to back it up. All the excuses I’ve heard as to why someone doesn’t have a presence on the social web just don’t hold water. It takes two minutes to signup for LinkedIn. Five minutes to setup a blog. It’s simple and the benefits are limitless. Do any of these make you a social media guru? Of course not. But they’re a start. You have to ask yourself if you’re really worth talking to if you haven’t taken the time to use free tools like these. They allow you to quickly and easily share your professional experience with everyone you meet. Be honest with yourself. Have you pulled out all the stops?

I have no doubt that most organizations who offer match making services for entrepreneurs have good intentions (except those who charge for it). I just think they’re misguided. All of the investors that I follow and respect consistently talk about the philosophy of investing in people and not ideas. That being the case, how can a match making group be sure that they’re finding the right people if they don’t talk to everyone? How can they possibly know which entrepreneurs will hit it off and which ones won’t? I don’t care what eHarmony or Match.com try to tell you, successful relationships can’t be predicted. Meaningful relationships naturally develop between people who share similar philosophies and ideals. Ancillary relationships filter themselves out. That’s the nature of social interaction.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that entrepreneurs need connectors, not middle men. Those guys on radio and TV that tell you they can make you rich just by following their “proven program” are getting rich by selling you the program. If they were already rich they wouldn’t be to selling you the program, they’d be giving it away. They’re salesmen. It’s what they do.

That’s the difference between a middle man and a connector. Connectors don’t become successful by selling you something. They become successful by collecting and nurturing hundreds of relationships without expecting anything in return. They work to introduce you to people that will help make you successful. Your success is their return.

Find the connectors. Engage their networks. Meet other entrepreneurs. Discuss. Success is sure to follow.