The Art Of Networking

On June 26th, 2017, I was fired for the first time in my life.

The experience made me immediately take stock of all the connections I’d made up to that point. I was 27, and since launching my first startup in 2012 and working at 2 other companies after that, I’d attended 60+ conferences, hundreds of networking events and amassed thousands of business cards.

I knew that these connections would be my support moving forward. So I read through each and every card, digitizing them as I went.

With all the contact information stored in the cloud, I no longer needed the cards and was ready to throw them away.

But something didn’t feel right. I imagined the cards rotting in the bottom of a dumpster, and I knew that wasn’t the fate they deserved.

Each card represented a connection, a conversation that changed me, big or small. It might have been a new perspective, a new idea, or someone’s energy that infected me.

Throwing them away felt like throwing away the most significant part of me – the people who shaped both my personal and professional life. So instead, I decided to give them a new life.

After 15 months and hundreds of hours, I’m excited to have created a fitting tribute to everyone who played a part in who I am today.

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