Your Network Is Worth More Than Your Startup. Take It From My 650,000 LinkedIn Followers

Every single person in your network could be the person who opens a door you couldn’t open yourself.

EXPERT OPINION BY DAVE KERPEN, CEO, KERPEN VENTURES @DAVEKERPEN

Illustration: Getty Images

I’m supposedly one of LinkedIn’s most connected people, with something like 650,000 followers. But here’s what nobody talks about when they mention that statistic: I didn’t get there by optimizing my LinkedIn algorithm or gaming the system. I got there by actually caring about relationships, consistently, for decades.

People see that number and think there must be some secret to LinkedIn growth. Some tactic. Some content strategy that went viral. But the real story is much simpler and much harder at the same time.

Early in my career, I sold sponsorships at Radio Disney and Likeable Media. This was before social media was what it became and before LinkedIn was a networking platform. I was cold-calling businesses, sometimes 10 or more times a day. I was scrappy and broke, and I was learning something that would matter more than any algorithm: if you remember people, they remember you back.

I’d call the same people week after week. Most would hang up. But a few would chat with me. I’d ask them about their business. I’d ask them about their kids. I’d ask about the things that mattered to them beyond just the sale. And then I’d call back the next week and ask follow-up questions about what they’d told me.

How Anthropic's Claude AI Became a Co-Founder

This wasn’t a strategy. It was just how I was wired. I genuinely liked these people. And over time, something magical happened: the relationship became the thing, not the transaction. They started calling me. They started inviting me to events. They started introducing me to others/ 

Then actually I maintained them. Checking in on people years later just to say hello. Making introductions without being asked. Remembering what matters to them. Following up on something they mentioned in passing two years ago.

That consistency matters more than you think. People don’t forget when you care about them. They don’t forget when you help without expecting anything in return.

© Inc.com