Understanding the Value of Social Capital

I hosted 100+ events last year with a $0 budget. Instead, I had to rely on Social Capital. ⮆ Food sponsors became trusted partners. ⮆ Venue owners became community advocates. ⮆ Attendees became evangelists. The math is simple but powerful: • 1 introduction = 1 goodwill • 10 goodwills = 1 event • 10 events = 1 community • 10 communities = 1 ecosystem Importantly, a $0 budget forced me to think differently: Instead of paying for a venue → I offered venue owners a solution to their Tuesday night problem Instead of buying catering → I turned sponsors into community partners who needed to grow their brand Instead of hiring staff → I turned my attendees into my next co-hosts And here's the secret sauce: When you can't pay people, you have to create value in other ways: ↳ Recognition (tag them, celebrate them, make them heroes) ↳ Access (exclusive intros, insider knowledge, first dibs) ↳ Reciprocity (help first, ask later, always deliver more) The founders who get this? They're the ones building movements. My advice to anyone starting out: 👉 Stop waiting for a budget. 👉 Start adding value right away. All you need is: 💻 A laptop to create an event page 🟦 A LinkedIn account to rally people 🔥 The guts to go out and ask "Hey, can we use your space?" 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵: 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭. Why? Unlike money, the more you spend it on others, the more you get back. Win/win ✅ = Flywheel 🛞 Founder friends, what's the boldest thing you've done with zero budget? 👇

In today's workplace, it's more common to get things done working through and with others than working alone. And that’s where social capital and the knowledge, relationships and resources we gain from existing within a network. The degree of which your employees have the social capital they need can help them get things done, influence others, and advance their career. So how can manager and leaders lend their social capital to help their employees develop theirs? Here are a few key elements or areas of social capital you can focus on: ✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 – Making sure your employees have relationships with other key people they need to be successful, such as a key stakeholder, or other key leaders in your organization ✅ 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 – Getting them onto the playing field and into the game. Oftentimes, they cannot do this on their own, and with your support and advocacy, they can showcase the talents they have, but only when they can get the chance. ✅ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 – When you’re employees are doing great work but it’s not getting heard, being their “megaphone” and hype-person can often scale the impact of their work and improve their visibility for other opportunities ✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 – It might be budget, could be headcount or simply just a simple approval, but getting the resources to do their jobs more effectively can be what the doctor ordered. ✅ 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 – Oftentimes, your employee might be green or new, and needs the backing and support to gain curry and acceptance from others. Going to bat for them and getting others to do the same can help them get the trust they need to do their job effectively or gain access to new opportunities. These are just some examples of social capital that can unlock opportunity and unleash the potential of your employees. I’d love to hear what other ones are! #leadership #managers #socialcapital

Social Capital is as important to growing a business or an individual's personal brand as actual financial capital. Social capital is the potential ability to obtain resources, favors or information from one's personal connections. A company that has employees who are well-connected will be able to accomplish more because it has a strong reputation. Same with an individual. S/he will be able to use his or her connections to reach goals. How do you grow your social capital? You must network both online and in person. You must meet people with a spirit of curiosity, not as if you're clearly wondering "what's in it for me?" I believe you need to go to networking events in person then connect with the people you meet online to extend the relationship. LinkedIn is an ideal way to make meaningful professional connections. If you connect with someone online, and you share mutual interests, then you should find a way to meet in person. Ultimately, face-to-face connections are the most powerful connections, because humans are born to connect in the same space (as opposed to Zoom or Teams). There are actual hormones like dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins that are transmitted through face-to-face contact. I call them the 'happy hormones.' For a company or an individual, building a bank account of social capital is vital to having a strong reputation, which helps in accomplishing goals and feeling a sense of happiness and accomplishment in one's work.

When founders hit a revenue ceiling, they start looking for solutions: 🔹 Better marketing 🔹 A new sales strategy 🔹 Maybe even hiring a CRO But one of the most overlooked levers for growth? Social capital. I see it all the time—CEOs who are great at building relationships in the early days but then get too busy running the business. And here’s the problem: ✔️ Social capital is like money. If you’re not investing in it consistently, you won’t have it when you need it. ✔️ When you only reach out in moments of urgency, it feels transactional—and people pull away. ✔️ When you stop nurturing your network, growth slows because opportunities stop flowing. The best CEO’s still prioritize social capital even when they’re busy. Because when the time comes to hire, raise, sell, or pivot—your network is either your biggest asset or your biggest limitation. And just like money, how you spend social capital matters too. 🔹 Withdraw too much without depositing value? You burn relationships. 🔹 Approach it transactionally? People see right through it. 🔹 Invest consistently? You build a network that fuels long-term growth. The founders who scale fastest aren’t just the smartest or hardest working—they have the strongest networks. Are you actively building your social capital, or are you waiting until you need it?