What you're getting wrong about networking, Breezi updates and where I'll be this summer

Welcome to Make life easy, Breezi.

Your friend who sends you a weekly update on what she's working on, reading through, and thinking about –?in a list.

I have one rule to this newsletter, lists only. The only exception is this yellow box. I'll use this to say anything that needs to be said in a full paragraph. I really wanted to send this newsletter yesterday because it was 2/22 but opted for consistency over angel numbers. Regardless wishing you all harmony and balance as you head into the weekend!

Networking will change your life, here's why

• If you get lucky, you'll meet the right person, at the right time, helping you with the right thing and it will change the path that you're on for the better

Well, how am I supposed to just become a lucky person?

• By networking!
• Networking will increase your surface area for luck
• The odds of getting struck by lightning are low
• But if you run around with a 20ft metal pole the odds go WAY up
• Networking is like running around during a thunderstorm with a 20ft metal pole
• But instead of getting electrified, you get lucky
• And that luck can and will alter the course of your entire life

Okay if this is all so positive, why do I feel a bit "icky" about the whole thing?

• In college, I was an aspiring management consultant
• During our fall semester, we were all knees deep in recruiting season
• Night after night, we stood around the auditorium and met with firm partners, associates, HR managers
• The school called these "networking events"
• I remember standing in my uncomfortable heels beside a group of my peers, and listened as one of them bonded with a partner over their shared love for fishing
• Then to my surprise, everyone else in the group chimed in and also shared their apparent love for fishing – all while I tried my best not to roll my eyes
• I thought, if this is what networking is supposed to be like
• I'm screwed

Spoiler: that is NOT what networking is supposed to be like. Here are 5 common misconceptions around networking:

1. Networking is something you do to make people like you
2. Networking is something you do only when you need something from someone
3. The person I'm networking with has to be more successful than me to help me
4. I can only network with people in the same industry/ role as me
5. Networking makes me seem needy

Here's are 3 of my personal core beliefs around what networking actually is

1. Networking for perspectives vs. opportunities:?I used to think leave coffee chats or phone calls feeling like I succeeded, only if it resulted in some sort of?opportunity?(e.g. if they made an introduction for me, if they looked over my cover letter, if they put my name on the shortlist, etc.). Now, I count my networking as successful if I leave with a new perspective that I hadn't thought of before. Exposure to new ways of thinking can completely transform your thought process and guide you to a solutions you've never thought of.
2. Give, give, give, take, give:?My process for networking is something I have dubbed as the "help sandwich". I start the conversation by offering a tip or insight from research that I've done already on the person I'm chatting with. Then I go into areas that I need support on and go through a list of questions I have for them. I end the call by pointing to areas I'm experienced in and asking them if they have any questions I can help with. The Help Sandwich helps me frame networking as a give and take relationship, which is exactly what it is.
3. My win is your win:?Now that I'm in a position to be on the other side of networking (people reaching out to me for help), I've come to realize that when someone I connect with wins, I feel a sense of pride and fulfillment too. Once you realize the person you're networking with is on the same team as you, it feels a lot less transactional and more like a partnership.

My 6 best-kept secrets to being great at networking

?? Before diving in, I just want to give a shoutout to a few of my mentors.

From my undergraduate days:?Ernest ,?Jon ,?Braden ?and?Kristina . To my career in growth:?Nik ,?Grace ?and?Kristen . And even some incredible people I've met recently:?Arjun ?and?Zehra .

I appreciate you guys a ton :)

• Be clear abut your ask from the get go ("I'm looking for tips on hiring a founding engineer and know you have experience with this")
• Share context about your background before diving in?("I spent three years in growth marketing and brand building before working on my startup, we're still in stealth mode but getting ready to launch our waitlist in a few weeks")
• Ask a mix of specific and open-ended questions?("Do you have thoughts on outsourcing development versus in house? What's the most important part in building a consumer product")
• Find something outside of work and career to bond over?("I noticed you played lacrosse in college, I also played a varsity sport my junior year - wouldn't you give anything to experience those 5am practices one more time?")
• Tell them how they can approach you for help too?("You mentioned launching a new feature next week, I'm experienced in email marketing – let me know if I can share my tips on optimizing an email drip campaign for the release")
• Keep in touch after, turn them into a mentor?("If you're open, I'd love to send you an email in a month or two and keep you updated on my progress, you've been a great help and would love for us to stay in touch")

3 quick ways to put this into action next week

• Make a list of 5-10 people that you've been following and want to connect with
• Reach out to at least one, and try to set up a call with them
• Reconnect with someone you've previously networked with to check in

The current items on my to-do list for Breezi

?? In case you're new here, Breezi is my startup. We believe the next big consumer internet platform will be social lists, so we're building it.?

What to be excited about for Breezi

• It's user interview time, I'm excited to gather some additional perspectives and thoughts on the future of consumer
• If you are interested in participating, please book a time?here ?thanks!
• I just onboarded two product designers to join us, one working on the landing page and the other is working on initial app mockups
• I've started working on top of funnel awareness strategies, specifically focusing on TikTok because that's my bread and butter
• My goal is to cement myself as "The List Girl" on all social platforms so when Breezi launches in beta, I'll already have my early power users primed and ready to go

*Some sneak peeks on different concepts we're working on, let me know if you like these updates!

My top 3 highlights of being a startup founder last week

1. Leading my designers and building my dream team
2. Bootstrapping and giving myself the freedom to bring my vision to life, versus taking outside capital and having to manage those relationships this early
3. Pitching Breezi to my Uber driving and him telling me this is exactly the product he wants his seven year old daughter to be using when she's old enough for a phone

My top 3 lowlights of being a startup founder last week

• Had a hard time logging off while on my snowboarding trip last week and spent the entire day feeling anxious, despite being on a beautiful mountain
• Realizing how much I still don't know about anything
• Feeling lonely and not relating to others my age

The best Tweets I saw this week

• Olivia Moore on how consumer apps should approach subscription and memberships
• Michael Houck on founder-market fit vs product-market fit
• Corner released a new update that may quite be the cleanest product update I've seen in a while, very impressed

Upcoming travel plans I have

• New York: March 19-28
• Tulum: April 16-30
• Vegas: May 19-21
• New York: May + June + July

*If you know anyone subletting their NY apartment in the summer, message me!

My three favorite cities I've ever been to

• Madrid:?this city somehow feels cozy, exciting and loving all at the same time
• Maui:?swimming beside dolphins in the ocean during sunrise altered my brain chemistry for life
• Paris:?I'm convinced my husband is in this city and I just need to find him

Why travelling is so important to me

• Being in a new country, surrounded by a new culture and new people makes me so brutally aware of how tunnel-visioned most of us are
• We live in our own little bubble and think we know best – that can't be further from the truth
• I'm not going to be successful because I came up with my own idea
• My success is going to come from the fact that I have gathered thousands of different perspectives, thought deeply about each one of them and recognized the pattern that emerged from it
• When you build in consumer, you're literally creating a vision of the future
• Instead of creating?my?future, travelling helps me create?our?future

In case no one told you

What to look forward to in the next newsletter?

• Why going viral on TikTok is NOT what you want to achieve
• How to become a better negotiator
• Why I've decided to run a marathon this year

If you found anything in this newsletter helpful, I'd love to connect on Twitter –?tweet me ?a screenshot of your favorite part and let's chat???

I'll be back next week with more lists!