Founder MindsetProven Pattern

Nurture professional relationships before you need them through consistent no-agenda touchpoints

Build your network when you don't need anything by sending relevant articles, congratulations, or 'thinking of you' notes. Treating connections as an ATM for withdrawals when desperate quickly overdraws the account. Consistent giving when there's no ask builds credit for when you do need help.

When to use

Throughout your career, not just when job hunting or fundraising

Don't do this

Only reaching out to your network when you need something - job leads, intros, favors

3 Founders Who Did This

1
N/A (Career/Networking)by Karen Wickre

Practiced 'loose touch' philosophy: sharing articles with personal notes, FYI messages with no agenda, and maintaining connections with people she hadn't seen for years

Result:Built reputation as 'someone who knows everyone' - people she hadn't worked with for 20 years still respond when she reaches out
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2
Investment Syndicateby Alex Ptis

Sent 10-20 deals to VCs over 1-2 years before expecting anything back, building relationships through consistent value provision despite having insignificant check sizes

Result:VCs who initially didn't care about his small checks eventually started sharing exclusive deal flow back and keeping him top of mind
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3
Assemblyby Hunter Hammett

Built network with top creators over years by 'never asking for anything, just always giving' which established him as high integrity and loyal, making partnerships easy when the time came

Result:Able to partner with high-profile creators like Ali Abdaal, Sam Parr, Cody Sanchez without hard sales pitches due to existing trust
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