Oof. A friend of mine ran a really cool Kickstarter last year. It was for a good product, well made, with a clear (and public) business plan for where the money was going to go, etc. It was a geek niche and I think it really had the potential to go viral…but it failed, because my friend didn’t know any major influencers. He started with friends and family, took the right steps, but in the end didn’t know the right people to get his project to catch on, alas.

(I tried to help. My network is just not that big.)

(Also come to think of it, thinking of people I know as “influencers” feels a little gross.)

On the other hand, every non-retail job I’ve gotten has been from random job postings online, without knowing anyone involved. And when I was querying literary agents, I didn’t know any, either, and was eventually signed out of the slush pile. Which is funny, because you’d think it would be the office and publishing stuff where relationships would come into play, but nope, it was the movie theater and cafe gigs where friends got me hired.

So on the one hand, it maybe isn’t necessary to always know someone, but on the other hand, it makes it a hell of a lot easier.