Keeping a network you can actually use
Guides on personal CRMs, managing a professional network, and making warm introductions, written for advisors, investors and founders.
Personal CRM
What is a personal CRM?›
A personal CRM keeps track of the people you know, what you last discussed, and who needs a follow-up. Here is what one does and when you need it.
A personal CRM for angel investors›
An angel's network is founders, co-investors and the people you promised to introduce. A deal pipeline tracks none of that. Here is what does.
How to choose a personal CRM›
Five questions that separate the personal CRM you will still be using in six months from the one you abandon in three weeks, and a test that takes a month.
A personal CRM for consultants›
Consultants have few clients, long gaps between them, and referrals as the whole pipeline. That shape needs a different tool from the one salespeople use.
Networking for introverts, with the performance removed›
Most networking advice asks introverts to act like extroverts. This is the other approach. Fewer people, more memory, and a system that does the remembering.
Personal CRM vs spreadsheet›
A spreadsheet works until the last contact column stops being true. Here is what breaks, when to switch, and what to carry over when you do.
CRM for advisors
The CRM for startup advisors›
Advisors who support several companies need to track each one's needs and the introductions they owe. Here is what that system looks like.
What to track for each company you advise›
Most advisors record what a company does. The useful record is what it needs this month, and what would tell you the match just walked past.
How to run a portfolio of advisory relationships›
Advising six companies means holding a few hundred people at different depths. Tier them, accept the ceiling, and plan for when an engagement ends.
Managing your network
How to manage your professional network without it becoming a job›
Keeping a few hundred relationships alive is a system problem. Which ones to keep, how to notice when one is fading, and what to do about it.
What to say when someone changes jobs›
A job change is the best reconnect you will ever be handed, and almost everyone wastes it on a one-click congratulations. What to write instead.
How to reconnect after a long silence›
Reaching out after a year of quiet feels awkward and is usually welcome. What the research on dormant ties found, and what to actually write.
Warm introductions
How to make a warm introduction›
The double opt-in, when to skip it, what to write, and what to do when one side says no. A guide for people who make introductions for a living.
Warm introduction software for advisors, compared›
Most "warm introduction" tools are built for sales teams, deal teams or founders raising money. Here is how to tell them apart, and what fits an advisor.
When not to make an introduction›
Every introduction you make spends a little of your credibility. Five situations where the right answer is no, and how to say it without damage.
How to ask for an introduction›
Most introduction requests fail because they describe what you do. The ones that work describe the moment someone needs you, and are easy to forward.
Comparisons
The best personal CRM for networking, by who you are›
Twelve tools grouped by the job they do, with a recommendation for each kind of networker. No affiliate links, no rankings, real strengths and limits.
The Swarm alternatives, by what you need from the network›
The Swarm is strong relationship data for teams that build on it. What to use if you want the introduction handled, or a tool your advisors will join.
Affinity alternatives for founders who sell and raise through people›
Affinity is built for venture and private equity firms. What a founder should use instead to reach customers and investors through the people they know.
Bridge alternatives for warm introductions, by who is asking›
Bridge is built for VC platform teams running introductions at scale. If that is not you, here is what fits a founder, an advisor, a firm or a solo connector.
Dex alternatives, by the gap you are feeling›
Dex is the safe default personal CRM and it is better than most people realise. Here are the five specific gaps people leave for, and what fixes each one.
Relationship CRM vs pipeline CRM›
A pipeline models a deal moving toward a close. A relationship CRM models a person over years. Using the wrong one is why most CRMs get abandoned.
Founder-led sales
How to ask your investors and advisors for customer introductions›
Investors and advisors make customer introductions when the ask is a named person, easy to forward, and rare. How founders run that, step by step.
How to find customers through your investors and advisors›
Your backers know people you need to meet. How to find out which of them can reach a target customer, by hand or with a tool, before you ask anyone.
How to ask your first customers for referrals›
Your first happy customers are the warmest route to the next ones. When to ask, who to ask about, and what to send so the referral actually happens.
How to build a target account list for founder-led sales›
A founder's account list should be short, named, and sorted by who can introduce you. How to pick the accounts, the role, and the warm path to each.
How to respond to an introduction email from an investor or advisor›
Your investor just introduced you to a prospect. How to reply so the meeting happens, what to say to the connector, and what to do if nobody answers.
How to write the asks section of an investor update›
The asks in a monthly update get skimmed unless they name people. How to write them, how many to include, and the follow-up note that gets them done.
How to thank an investor for an introduction, and what to tell them after›
A thank-you for a customer introduction is a short sequence of messages. What to send the same day, when the outcome lands, and months later.
Claude and ChatGPT
What you can do with your network inside Claude and ChatGPT›
An assistant knows nothing about who you know until you connect it. Here is what it can do once you have, prompt by prompt, and what it still cannot.
Find warm intros to investors with your LinkedIn export and one prompt›
Download your LinkedIn connections, paste three prompts into ChatGPT or Claude, and get a ranked list of intro paths to the investors you want.
A ChatGPT prompt for a warm introduction email›
Prompts for ChatGPT and Claude that write introduction emails people forward, for both asking for an introduction and making one, and what to feed them.
Personal agents
Can a personal AI agent run your CRM on its own?›
Why handing your agent a LinkedIn CSV or a browser tab stops working past a few hundred people, and what it needs instead to keep track of your network.
Why your AI agent's memory is not a CRM›
ChatGPT and Claude memory hold preferences and short facts well. Why they cannot hold a network of thousands of people, and how memory and a CRM split the work.
How to connect a personal AI agent to your network›
Step by step, how to give Claude, ChatGPT, Meta Muse or your own agent live access to your contacts, history and introductions over MCP, and what to try first.
How to deduplicate contacts across Gmail, Calendar and LinkedIn›
The same person shows up four times across your inbox, calendar, phone and LinkedIn. Which duplicates are safe to merge automatically and which need a human.
Why your LinkedIn connections export goes stale so fast›
A LinkedIn connections CSV is a snapshot with missing emails and no history. What it holds, what it leaves out, and how to keep it useful past the first week.