How To Build A $100M Network That's Indestructible

Today we are going to talk about how to build the ultimate network. So my name is Eric Siu and I'm here to help level up the world. So let's get into it. So I recently put together a thread on Twitter about how to connect with badass people guaranteed. So this is, it's gonna be how to build that $100 million network, the ultimate network, however you look at it. And a lot of people, they talk about how they don't have a network to start with. They don't know anybody. They don't have money. They don't have resources. And I'm here to tell you that I didn't have those either when I first started out, but I slowly figured it out over time and I learned that everything is about relationships. So, I'm gonna go over kind of what I wrote here. I'm gonna elaborate a little bit just to give a little more detail here on how to build that ultimate network, okay? So, let's take a look over here and even if you can't see it, that's okay because I'm gonna be explaining. So, I wrote, doing anything worthwhile takes a village, but how do you actually start to build that village? So, how to actually connect with badass people guaranteed. So, serendipity and touchpoints, that's the first thing over here. So, first, try to create as many opportunities for serendipity as possible. It's all about creating just one touchpoint and blossoming the relationship from there. That means going to events with where like-minded people are hanging out. So, just to elaborate on that point, I, when I was at a TED conference a couple years ago, I saw a guy in line and he had a little badge on his backpack and it was the badge for the logo for Singularity University, which is a university that Peter Diamandis is affiliated with. And I had done the executive program a while back and I really enjoyed it. And I learned a lot from, you know, people doing great things and also learned a lot from kind of the content that they were teaching. And so basically, I also learned that he was a YPO member. You know, when you think about the 3 different groups that I just mentioned right now, TED, YPO, and Secularity University, well, the one thing that these groups all have in common is that they're all filled with lifelong learners that want to continue to create and make the world a better place, okay? And so, you know, when I think about serendipity and touchpoints here, that means, you know, if, you know, had I not gone to the Singularity University program or had I not interacted with their content, I wouldn't have recognized that badge. Had I not seen the TED videos over the years and wanted to go to the TED conference, I wouldn't have been in that conference, right? So, making those 2 connections right there, those It was multiple touchpoints but being able to interact with that brand, then later I was able to meet up with this person, his name is Darshan and we eventually met up in LA and that's— so that's another touchpoint and then I learned he was in YPO, right? And so, the only reason I learned about these groups is because I kept trying to learn new things, right? I was learning from the TED Talks, I was learning from Secret University, I was in EO, then I learned about YPO. It's just because I kept learning, learning, learning. I kept leveling up my learning. And then I was able to create those serendipity, that serendipity which was able to create those touchpoints, right? And so the key thing here is that, look, if you're looking to hang out with like-minded people, you got to find those groups, but you also have to keep learning on your own, okay? And so you eventually start to build that village first by learning, right? And then you're able to do these things, right? But if you don't have any of that knowledge, because knowledge is power, then you're going to be behind and then you're not going to be able to hang out with these groups because even If you are able to hang out with these groups or with these people, you're not gonna have enough to talk about if you're not leveling up your knowledge, right? If you're not constantly just sharpening the axe. Okay, now if I come back over here, so it says, look, if you can't afford the event, sometimes it's worth reaching. So high-level events might cost $15K to $25K per year, right? And it's hard to justify dropping that much. Dough on an event. In the short term, there might be no results, but in the long term, one relationship might be worth millions. So a good example of this would be Andrew Wilkinson, who now runs Tiny Capital. And Tiny Capital, you know, last time I spoke to him, collectively they do over $100 million a year. And so when he was doing his web design firm, Meta Lab, which he still has right now, he used to spend on TED Talks when his design shop couldn't quite afford it, right? So $25,000 or $15,000. It's a lot of money. I don't care what level you're at, right? It's a lot of money. Ultimately, from the relationships that he cultivated, he resulted in clients paying millions of dollars. So the ROI of these relationships too, it really extends far beyond the dollar amount, right? So, you know, me over the years, I've gone to conferences. I'll go to the— I remember I went to the SaaStr conference years ago, right? And that actually led to maybe about 7 figures in revenue, right? And it was just me kind of walking around and someone pointing at me and saying, podcast guy, right? So You know, that's what it is. And look, if you're an introvert, what you can do is you can throw a dinner as well. So this is a dinner that I threw recently during Art Basel in Miami. So look, I'm an introvert and I don't usually like walking up to people, period. I just would rather set up the event on my own and pick the place, pick the time, pick the people, and connect the people, and then just become that connector, right? And so, you know, when I was broke, by the way, like it's not like you gotta have a lot of money for this. I used to host things at my place. We had like a half, eaten bag of chips. That was my very first kind of dinner, right? And so, you know, we've kind of come a long way here, right? And the next one would be, look, if you've done the dinner already, it doesn't— you don't need to have a lot of resources for any of this, right? I'm just, you know, I've kind of slowly leveled up over the years, but you can throw an event. So, you know, Neil and I with the Marketing School Podcast, we do the Growth Accelerator. And so, you know, we do events with the thriving community. We pick different speakers, place, time, format. We just recently did it in Miami. Here's myself sitting next to Vanessa, my friend Patrick over here. This is during dinner again, but this is actually during the event. So you can do that as well. Again, I'm an introvert, so I'd rather just throw the dinner. And, you know, is that more work? Arguably, yes. But it's— to me, I just— it's too much anxiety for me to have to walk up to a bunch of people because I'm just very— I try to be courteous. I don't like to interrupt conversations as well. Okay. And starting a podcast. So this is, those of you might be listening to this right now, but starting a podcast in 2013, I started the Leveling Up Podcast. And then that led to me starting the Marketing School Podcast. But just being able to talk with really impressive people, they're down to do it. I mean, for whatever reason, if you have a podcast, they're down to talk. So 30 to 45 minute conversations with people, some of the most successful, interesting people in the world, that's a hack right there, right? So to date with the 2 podcasts, we've got about 55 million downloads. And then Twitter, I mean, if you look at my screen right now, I'm literally showing a Twitter thread. You know, I've really underappreciated the value of Twitter over the years. And I've learned that the Twitter DMs are actually more powerful than Instagram because a lot of people are expecting stuff on Instagram. And then there's all these like hidden filters and all that. There's a lot of spam and things can get lost. But for whatever reason on Twitter, Things are a lot more noticeable, right? And I actually find myself responding a lot more on Twitter. So if you wanted to reach out to me, Twitter would be the spot. And I just kind of wrote over here, I mean, serendipity and touchpoints, right? I saw Brian Cho tweet something and then I DM'd him and then we got on a 30-minute Zoom call and then that led to him introducing me to his partner. And then I had lunch with his partner in LA, right? So it's just all about the little touchpoints right there. Example number 2, you know, WestCal, She's the co-founder of Maven. She tweeted something about cohort-based courses. We did a paid call with her, and then that got me— gave me a chance to invest into Maven. I also helped with the cohort-based course. I was part of one of the cohorts, and so I was able to connect with amazing people like Jason Yeh, which led to other opportunities and other amazing people, right? So serendipity, right? And this all comes down to learning again. Learning, learning, learning. If I'm gonna do a podcast, I'm gonna learn from that conversation. If I'm going to join these different groups, it's because I'm learning, right? And I'm reading Twitter, I'm engaging with other people, it's learning and then following up on the action, right? And the other point I want to call out here is there's a great book called Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. And I read this book in my early 20s or so, but the message was never really lost on me. The whole message was just making sure that, you know, you're eating with somebody so you can You know, at least you have some company and also you can have some interesting conversations, right? And even though I don't really follow this, it's something I continue to remember. And recently my friend told me he's got a billionaire on the board of directors for the company that he works at. And he takes never eat alone to the next level, this billionaire. And so what he does is he doesn't just meet with one person for lunch, he meets with 2 people for lunch, 2 separate lunches, okay? And then he meets with 2 separate people for dinner as well. And he's been doing this since 1970. So if you do the math on this, about 76,000 interesting people, okay? And when you think about that, it's no wonder that he's a billionaire. And so the other thing I'll say too is meeting up with people when you're traveling. So I tell people, hey, I'm going to be in the area, right? You know, and that way I'm not saying like, hey, I'm, you know, I'm planning to visit or whatever. I'm saying, hey, I'm going to be here. Are you around? And usually most people are down to meet. So for to summarize this, basically, How to meet badass people or how to build that $100 million network. 1, it's creating serendipity, right? 2, it's hanging out in like-minded communities. 3, it's gambling once in a while, taking a shot, taking a risk, taking a leap of faith. 4, if you're an introvert, doing dinners or events, or you can be an extrovert as well. 5, doing a podcast. 6, Twitter DMs are better than Instagram DMs. 7, never eating alone. Okay. Now, if you think I missed anything, drop it in the comments below. Let me know what your thoughts are. Don't forget to hit the like and the subscribe button because it helps us grow. Really, really appreciate it if you enjoyed this video, and we will catch you in the next one.