When I moved to Austin in 2014, I was doing well professionally but felt like I had a lot of shallow relationships. I knew people’s names and what they did. I didn’t really know them.
So I started hosting dinner parties. Small ones, six or eight people. I’d put together a mix of people I thought would genuinely connect, make a reservation somewhere nice, and just show up with good questions.
I did 50 of them over two years.
Not because I was building a business. Because I genuinely enjoyed it. Because I liked being in rooms where interesting people were meeting each other for the first time.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was running a service people would have paid for.
The Lightbulb Moment
Earlier this year, I was sitting in a workshop when a thought hit me out of nowhere. I started running through all the things I already do for the people in my network: make introductions, organize events, host investor dinners and cigar nights, and put together gatherings.
And then I thought: what if I just charged for it?
The idea is simple. Go to 20 people you know well — entrepreneurs, investors, operators, whatever your network looks like. Tell them: pay me $25,000 a year.
In return, you provide: monthly introductions tailored to what they’re building or looking for, quarterly in-person gatherings, and ongoing access to your network and your judgment about who should meet whom.
20 people × $25K = $500,000 per year.
Not for speaking fees. Not for coaching. Not for content. For doing the thing you were already doing anyway — just with structure, consistency, and a price.
I’ve started calling this the “productized connector” model.
Why This Works
The connector’s value proposition is different from most knowledge businesses. You’re not selling expertise or access to information. You’re selling access to a curated room and the judgment of someone who knows how to work one.
That’s genuinely rare.
Most people have networks. Very few people have networked intentionally enough that they can make introductions that actually change someone’s trajectory. When you’re good at this, the people around you feel it. They know that if you make an intro, it’s worth following up on.
That’s what the $25K is actually paying for. Not the event ticket. The trust and curation behind it.
There’s also a model here for people who already run events and wonder why it doesn’t feel like a real business. You can sell tickets. Or you can sell membership — ongoing access to a curated community with a person who’s responsible for the quality of the room.
Membership is a stickier, more valuable product than a ticket.
The Natural Networker Problem
Most people who would be great at this never build it because they give it away for free.
They make the intros because they enjoy it. They host the dinners because they love getting people together. They organize the gatherings because it’s genuinely fun.
That instinct is the whole point. You can’t manufacture a natural connector. The enjoyment is part of the value.
The shift isn’t about charging more for the same behavior. It’s about recognizing that the behavior has real worth and putting structure around it so it can be delivered consistently.
When I filled my first workshop, I didn’t run ads or write a lot of content. I personally texted and emailed about 20 people I thought would genuinely benefit. Not to pitch — to invite. Most of them came. Some referred others.
That’s the same muscle the productized connector is built on. The difference is that in the workshop model, the value is the content. In the connector model, the value is the room.
What It Actually Looks Like
Here’s a rough version of how you’d run this:
Membership tier: 20 members at $25K/year ($2,083/month)
What members get:
- 1-2 targeted introductions per month, personally vetted
- Quarterly in-person gathering (dinner, outing, casual event)
- Private channel or group for staying in touch
- Access to your judgment when they ask “who should I talk to about X?”
What you do:
- Know your members well enough to make good intros
- Organize 4-5 gatherings per year
- Say no to bad fits (membership quality degrades if you let in the wrong people)
The operational overhead is low. You’re not running a conference or a publication. You’re hosting dinners and making phone calls — probably things you already do.
The membership model also solves the awkwardness of asking for things. When someone pays to be in your network, they get to ask for introductions without feeling like they’re imposing. And you get to be the person who helps them without keeping a mental ledger of who owes what.
The Question Worth Sitting With
If you’ve been making introductions, organizing events, and being the person people call when they need to meet someone — you already have the asset.
The only question is whether you’re willing to structure it and ask.
Most natural connectors don’t, because it feels like monetizing a friendship. But the productized connector isn’t charging for friendship. It’s charging for professional curation and access — a service with real and measurable value.
The dinners I threw in Austin in 2014 weren’t a business. But the relationships I built doing it became the foundation for every workshop I’ve run, every partnership I’ve formed, every room I’ve been invited into since.
That’s what a well-run network is actually worth.
If you’re already running events or thinking about building a connector business, I’d be curious what model you’re using. Drop a reply.
