Ever wonder how some people seem to know everyone?
Walk into any startup event, investor dinner, or industry conference, and you'll spot them—the super connectors who effortlessly navigate rooms full of strangers, making introductions and sparking conversations that turn into partnerships, investments, and career-changing opportunities.
After building our careers in NYC's startup ecosystem and studying the city's most connected founders, investors, and executives, we've identified five networking secrets that separate true super connectors from everyone else collecting business cards.
These aren't generic networking tips. These are battle-tested strategies from people who've built unicorn companies, closed billion-dollar deals, and created the introductions that shaped New York's tech landscape.
Secret #1: They Network in Small Groups, Not Big Events
The Strategy: While most people chase the biggest conferences and networking events, super connectors focus on intimate gatherings of 8-12 people.
Real Example: One prominent NYC venture capitalist we know rarely attends large conferences. Instead, she hosts monthly dinners for founders in similar stages, investors with complementary thesis, or executives facing similar challenges. The conversations go deeper, relationships form faster, and follow-ups actually happen.
Why It Works: Small groups eliminate the anxiety of working a room and create natural conversation flow. You can have meaningful exchanges instead of rapid-fire elevator pitches. People remember you because you weren't one of 200 faces they met that night.
How to Apply It:
- Host intimate dinners around specific themes (founders raising Series A, marketing leaders in fintech)
- Attend smaller meetups over massive conferences
- Create "dinner parties with a purpose" where everyone shares a common challenge or interest
- Find sponsors! Startup providers (banks, law firms, SaaS providers) often have budget to sponsor
Secret #2: They Always Come with an Introduction to Make
The Strategy: Super connectors never show up empty-handed. They always arrive knowing they can connect at least two people who should meet.
Real Example: A serial entrepreneur we studied keeps a running list on his phone of people who need introductions. Before any networking event, he reviews the attendee list and identifies 2-3 connections he can facilitate. He's known as "the guy who always has someone you should meet."
Why It Works: This mindset shift transforms you from someone seeking value to someone providing it. People remember the connector who helped them, not the person who asked for help. It also gives you natural conversation starters: "I think you should meet Sarah—you're both working on similar problems."
How to Apply It:
- Before any event, review attendees and identify potential connections
- Ask friends what they're working on and make note of the “asks” or “needs”
- Practice the phrase: "You should meet [Name] because..."
- Lead with purpose—people always want to understand the “why”
Secret #3: They Follow Up Within 24 Hours with Specific Value
The Strategy: While most people send generic "nice to meet you" messages days later, super connectors follow up immediately with something specific and valuable.
Real Example: After meeting a founder struggling with hiring, one super connector sent a follow-up email within hours with recruiter recommendations, a link to a hiring playbook from a successful company, and an offer to introduce her to two founders who'd scaled similar teams. The founder still talks about this years later.
Why It Works: Immediate follow-up with value demonstrates you were actively listening and thinking about their challenges. It separates you from the dozens of other people they met who either didn't follow up or sent forgettable messages.
How to Apply It:
- Take notes immediately following conversations about specific challenges or goals
- Set a 24-hour follow-up reminder for every meaningful conversation
- Always include something valuable: an article, introduction, resource, or specific advice
- Reference specific details from your conversation to show you were engaged
Secret #4: They Track Relationships Like a CRM
The Strategy: Super connectors don't rely on memory. They systematically track relationships, including personal details, business updates, and connection opportunities.
Real Example: One of NYC's most connected founders maintains detailed notes on everyone in his network: family updates, business pivots, hiring needs, and fundraising timelines. When someone mentions they're hiring a VP of Sales, he immediately knows three people in his network who fit the profile because he's tracked their career progressions.
Why It Works: Systematic relationship management enables super connectors to surface the right connection at the right time. They can provide value precisely when someone needs it most because they're tracking context that others forget.
How to Apply It:
- Use a simple system to track, try Goodword for easy relationship management
- Note mutual connections and potential collaboration opportunities
- Track timing: fundraising cycles, hiring needs, product launches
Secret #5: They Think 2-3 Degrees Out, Not Just Direct Connections
The Strategy: While most people think about their immediate network, super connectors map relationships several degrees out to identify warm paths to anyone they need to reach.
Real Example: When Caroline and Chris were looking to start Goodword, they didn't meet through a networking event or LinkedIn. Instead, they were introduced by a mutual connection—an investor whose portfolio companies they had both worked for. That single warm introduction led to countless conversations about the networking challenges they'd both experienced as operators, and ultimately to co-founding Goodword together. One introduction, filtered through a trusted mutual connection, changed everything.
Why It Works: Warm introductions have dramatically higher success rates than cold outreach. By thinking beyond direct connections, super connectors can reach almost anyone through trusted intermediaries. This approach also creates value for people in their network by giving them opportunities to make valuable introductions.
How to Apply It:
- When you need to reach someone, think: "Who do I know who might know them?"
- Ask your network about their networks: "Who's the most interesting person you've met recently?"
- Offer to facilitate introductions through your network's networks
The Super Connector Mindset
These tactics work because they reflect a fundamental mindset shift: super connectors see networking as creating value for their ecosystem, not extracting value for themselves.
They understand that the most powerful professional opportunities come from trusted relationships—the investor who thinks of you when they see a perfect deal, the executive who recommends you for your dream role, the founder who includes you when they're building something new.
But building these relationships requires more than collecting contacts. It requires systems, intentionality, and consistent value creation.
Technology That Amplifies Human Connection
The best super connectors combine these relationship-building strategies with smart systems that help them remember context, surface opportunities, and maintain connections at scale.
This is exactly why we built Goodword—to help more professionals master these super connector behaviors without losing the human touch that makes networking meaningful.
Want to master these super connector strategies? Our networking copilot helps you remember context, surface opportunities, and maintain relationships like NYC's most connected professionals. Sign up for early access to Goodword and transform how you network.
