> ... Met at a mixer? ... Saying business is about nepotism is unattractive and doesn't really help you
I think it's unhelpful to consider this level of socialization "nepotism". A word often associated with a rich parent giving their child with no experience a directorship at a big company. Not only is the energy different, but it misleads people into believing business could be anything but social.
Business deals largely run on trust that the other party will do what they say, and hopefully do it in good faith (many people believe this isn't so because of the legal contracts we sign, in fact the need to use a contract in court is a failure of a business relationship). The only way you can build that trust is by entering someone's network of trust - you can do that through word of mouth or by talking to them, but you have to do one of them.
A 30 minute chat at a mixer is great way to give signal that you're at least not obviously a fraud and perhaps worth talking to.
I think it's unhelpful to consider this level of socialization "nepotism". A word often associated with a rich parent giving their child with no experience a directorship at a big company. Not only is the energy different, but it misleads people into believing business could be anything but social.
Business deals largely run on trust that the other party will do what they say, and hopefully do it in good faith (many people believe this isn't so because of the legal contracts we sign, in fact the need to use a contract in court is a failure of a business relationship). The only way you can build that trust is by entering someone's network of trust - you can do that through word of mouth or by talking to them, but you have to do one of them.
A 30 minute chat at a mixer is great way to give signal that you're at least not obviously a fraud and perhaps worth talking to.