Networking doesn't mean selling

Last week, I wrote about why relationships are the hard skill of fundraising.

This week, I want to make that idea practical.

One of the most common things I hear from founders and new angels is some version of, “I know relationships matter, I just hate feeling like I’m selling myself.”

Good news: if it feels bad, it’s probably not working anyway.

When establishing early connections in the startup ecosystem, it's not about pitching. You are building enough shared context and trust that a pitch might make sense later. That requires curiosity, not persuasion.

So let’s talk about what that actually looks like in practice.

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