Building A Product To Increase Your Network

It’s easier then ever to take an idea to landing page, build a quick prototype, and even launch a side project that can validate into something much greater. Some people have an inherit advantage of technical skills that rapidly accelerate this, but the barrier has been reduced significantly with so many tools and platforms available today. I’m going to dive in and discuss my thoughts on how simply starting with building a product first, launching it in a market, and then immersing yourself in it, can then lead to reaching domain experts and building out a more powerful personal network.

First things first, I do have a technical advantage in being able to quickly build product and have done so successfully (like Studiotime in one evening) in the past. That’s not to say the main concepts here can also apply to those looking to simply get a product out using limited technical skills that might also live in a different form. A great example of this would be Harry Stebbings launching The Twenty Minute VC, which is in essence a product he launched in form of a podcast. This has resulted in him building one of the most incredible venture-focused networks that I have seen someone achieve in such a short period of time.

Now that we’ve seen two examples of this, I want to shed some light on why this is such a great tactic to utilize in building out your personal network:

1. Products Generate Interest- People want to stay up to date on the latest product launches, especially if they are in the same market or potential overlap with their own. As Product Hunt has shown, people take pride in product discovery and sharing.
2. Presentation- Products can have a unique packaging of what they offer, their functionality, and also messaging that translates to users. You can leverage design, messaging, and the delivery of your product to create the perception of something much larger then the current state, and instead more aligned with the vision.
3. Connection- Products can create a connection and resonate with users. Just as you can identify your audience that you might be giving a public speech to and tailor the delivery of the presentation, you can do the same with product at a much larger scale. You can leverage your product to speak to a much larger audience.
4. Contribution- From being a product advisor, guest on a podcast, to being a technical project contributor, products allow for contribution from those that may be interested in helping and participating. People typically love to add their domain expertise and see it correlated to acceleration and success, so this is a great way to have a more concise way to allow others to contribute to what you are working on.
5. Focus- Products have associated goals, milestones, and desired outcomes that also provide focus. This aligns your team, all involved, and network that you are building to have a sense of togetherness, which also creates a stronger bond as a result. Your product or side project is the originating source of this.

In summary, I highly encourage you to take the next step if you are on the fence about a building a product that you are passionate about. I’ve built out my own personal network through product and have seen how big of an impact it has made in both my personal and professional life with new friends, mentors, and industry colleagues.

“Your network is your net worth” -Porter Gale

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