Impact Builds Network

When I started Nexubis, I already had an unusually strong network, especially considering I had only worked full-time for roughly three years.

And no, that network did not come from living at networking events 24/7.

It came from the environment I was in every day while working full-time. It came from the people around me, the work I was doing, and the way I chose to show up. So I figured I’d share some of the secret sauce behind how I actually pulled that off.

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Speak Up and Make a Difference

When I was working full-time, I was never someone who just sat quietly and kept my head down. If I spotted something that could be done better, I said it. If I saw an opportunity to improve something, I spoke up. I was always trying to make as much impact as possible, even when it went beyond what was written in my contract or expected from my role.

Now obviously, that does come with a side effect. You might step on a few toes.

But here’s the thing. If your intent is genuinely good, if you are trying to improve how things are done, move the company forward, and make a real difference, the people who actually call the shots notice. And usually, they do not notice in a bad way.

Too many people stay trapped inside the borders of their job title.

Sometimes you need to think beyond your role. Sometimes you need to think beyond your department too. Ask yourself where you can create value outside of the obvious. Maybe that means spotting an issue no one else is paying attention to. Maybe it means helping someone outside your department with a deliverable. Maybe it means challenging a process that clearly is not working.

Very few people do that.

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Think Beyond the Job Description

That is also one of the reasons I will always endorse working at startups. Your impact is amplified. You get exposed to more. You learn faster. You get noticed faster. And if you are genuinely useful, promotions, raises, trust, and opportunities tend to follow a lot quicker than they do in more rigid environments.

Now let me be clear. Overstepping is only welcome when it comes from good intent. That part matters.

This is not about ego. It is not about trying to look smart. It is not about forcing your opinion into every room.

It is about caring enough to contribute beyond the bare minimum.

That is honestly the big secret behind how I built my initial network.

My former CEO became my first client and retainer, and is still a client to this day, three years later. A lot of people I used to work with have since become business partners, collaborators, and sources of real opportunities that resulted in multiple deals.

I scaled Nexubis to a team of eight people in under two years, largely off the back of those early relationships and referrals alone.

Think about that for a second.

That is eight salaries, every single month, supported in large part by connections that came from colleagues and people I worked with in a previous job.

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Referrals Compound Over Time

That is the power of trust. That is the power of doing work that leaves an impression. That is the power of referrals when they start compounding over time.

Because referrals do compound. And as time goes on, they often compound faster.

So no, I did not build my network by trying to be the most social guy in every room. I built it by trying to be useful. By caring. By speaking up. By making impact. By being someone people remembered when it mattered.

That approach will not always make you the most liked person in the room.

But being liked is not the goal.

Making a difference is.

And when you consistently make a difference, people remember that. More importantly, they remember you.

The opportunities that come from that are just the byproduct.