We go to networking events, founder meetups, and many other gatherings to introduce what we are building, discover what others are working on, and hopefully find people who might become friends, collaborators, clients, or partners.
In Vienna, there is no shortage of events to attend. From Monday to Friday, and sometimes on weekends too, there is always another gathering, another community, and another opportunity to meet someone new.
At first, it feels exciting. You walk into a room full of people with different backgrounds, ideas, and ambitions. You introduce yourself and start a conversation.
My name is Joanna.
I was born in China, lived in different cities, countries and living in Vienna at the moment.
I came here to meet people and explore new opportunities.
I work in branding, marketing, and product development.
I’m building NoCrastination.
What are you working on?
Then you move on to the next person and repeat the same conversation. Your name. Where you come from. Why you are here. What you are interested in. What you are building. What you have done before. After a few rounds, the conversation can start to feel like a familiar script. There is nothing wrong with introducing yourself. It is often how a connection begins. But what happens when the same pattern continues week after week?
When meeting people becomes a repetitive cycle
You return to an event organized by the same organiser. Most of the people in the room are new. You introduce yourself again. You hear dozens of new ideas. You exchange a few LinkedIn connections. Then you go home. A week later, you attend another event. The process starts again. After a while, something begins to feel missing. You may have met dozens of people, but how many of them actually know what you are building? How many remember the challenge you mentioned last month? How many would ask how your project is going? How many relationships have developed enough trust for you to share something more honest than your usual introduction?
Sometimes, after attending several events, I find myself asking: Am I building a network, or am I simply collecting introductions?
And when the experience continues to feel repetitive, the motivation to return starts to disappear. Not because meeting people is no longer valuable. But because meeting new people is not the same as building relationships.
A month can pass. You may have attended many events and spoken to many people, yet still feel that you have not found friends, trusted collaborators, or a network where relationships have had time to grow.
Meeting people is not the same as being known
I think there is an important difference between being introduced to someone and being known by someone.
An introduction gives us information:
Your name. Your background. Your work. Your interests. What you are currently building.
But a relationship develops through what happens after that first conversation. It grows when someone remembers what you told them. When they ask about the project you mentioned. When they notice that you have been struggling. When they celebrate a small achievement with you. When you meet again and do not need to start from the beginning. You can skip the usual introduction because there is already a shared history. You can continue a conversation that started weeks or months ago. You can be more honest because trust has had time to develop. This is something I have started to value more deeply.
I don't just want to meet people. I want to build relationships with people who remember what we are trying to create.
A meaningful localised global network needs continuity
Perhaps the problem is not networking itself. Perhaps the problem is that many networking experiences are designed around encounters rather than continuity. We meet someone once, exchange contact details, and move on. Then we meet someone else. And someone else. But meaningful relationships need more than a single encounter. They need time. They need repeated participation. They need shared experiences. They need opportunities to contribute, receive support, and discover whether we can trust one another.
A localised network becomes meaningful when people have the chance to see each other repeatedly and gradually understand each other’s journeys.
This is why I believe: A meaningful journey needs memory.
It should remember more than your name. It should remember what you care about, what you are working on, what you have learned, and how you have changed. Not in a complicated or artificial way, but through real human participation. You show up. You take part. You help someone. You work on something together. You return. Over time, these small experiences create familiarity. Familiarity creates trust. Trust creates the possibility of deeper relationships and meaningful collaboration.
From collecting contacts to building together
For people building a business, a creative project, or a new life, relationships are not an optional extra. They can become part of the foundation. We may need someone to work beside us when motivation is low. Someone to give honest feedback. Someone to introduce us to a potential client or collaborator. Someone to share an opportunity. Someone who understands what it means to start again. Someone who notices when we have made progress, even if the progress is small.
We do not need every person we meet to become a close friend or long-term collaborator. But we do need spaces where these relationships have the opportunity to develop. The purpose of a network should not be limited to connecting people. It should also help people move forward together.
This is the question I am exploring through NoCrastination: What would it take to build a community where people do not simply meet each other, but continue creating, learning, and growing together?
I do not have a complete answer yet. I am still learning through conversations, network activities, experiments, and the experiences of the people who participate. But I am becoming more convinced that a meaningful network is not built only by bringing more people into the same room. It is built through the quality of the relationships that develop over time. Through shared practice. Through contribution. Through trust. Through giving people a reason to return, not because they need to introduce themselves to another group of strangers, but because there are people there who know them and care about what they are building.
What if networking means having somewhere to continue?
Maybe a meaningful localised global network is not the place where you meet the most people. Maybe it is the place where:
People remember what you are building. You can continue a conversation from the previous week. You feel safe enough to share a challenge. You can contribute something valuable to others. You find people who want to work, learn, and grow with you. Your relationships become deeper through shared experiences.
We don't necessarily need more opportunities to introduce ourselves.
We need more opportunities to continue where we left off.
And perhaps the real value of a network is not how many people we meet, but whether we gradually build a network of relationships that helps us feel less alone and gives us the courage to keep creating.
Because we are not only building projects.
We are also building our lives.
And I believe we should not have to build them entirely alone.
I’m curious about your experience:
Have you ever attended many networking events but still felt that you had not built meaningful relationships?
What helped you move from simply meeting people to feeling that you truly belonged to a community?
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Joanna