Professional networking is broken
The process seems archaic and the tools even more so. It is almost narcissistic. “Look at my resume. Look at my accomplishments.” We encouraged to talk at each other or a void and not to each other.
LinkedIn, as the most popular professional networking tool, operates on critical mass. It succeeds because you know that when you meet someone, you will be able to connect with them. In order to overtake them, one must be able to provide immediate value to the user.
Current process:
- Meet someone
- Remember their name
- Later, search and connect
- Hope they accept
- You now have a passive connection
A competitor must be able to:
- Make the process faster / cut out steps. I see a possibility of cutting 1–4 down into one step as the greatest opportunity for improvement here. Perhaps using NFC to connect on the spot?
- Focus on making passive connections active
By overtaking a smaller niche (e.x. lawyers) and making it a tool they can’t not use, they can gain the critical mass necessary to become the conventional professional networking tool.
Bonus points if it grabs your LinkedIn info to make setup close to instantaneous.
