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This week, Nicole and I unpack the ugly truth of modern networking: we spend time, money, and energy “connecting,” only to get funneled into cold, automated pitches that make you want to fake your own death and sail off the Florida coast. (We’ve considered it.)

PS: We did not digitally YEET co-host Laine Belcastro—she’s on a well-earned vacation in the great Northeast and will be back at the table.

What we get into:

• Why 90% of business cards end up in the trash (and the other 10% live in your glove box)
• Contact collecting vs. relationship building (hint: one works)
• Non-cringey, human follow-up that isn’t “Dear {FirstName}…”
• How to be intentional at events (and online) without feeling like a one-person off-Broadway show
• Mining events for ideas and intel—even when the room isn’t your market
• Use your existing network: stop ghosting the people who helped you when they change jobs
• LinkedIn hygiene: who stays, who goes, and why activity matters

If you’re over the networking hangover, ditch the card-collecting and build real relationships. Like, comment, and share if you’ve ever been ghosted mid-pitch—or dropped into someone’s bot funnel against your will.