The Remarkable Power of Connection

A few months ago, I was asked to give a speech at the launch of a local economic alliance in my hometown. My topic: the power of connecting and how it can totally transform your career and business (no matter how large or small).

I totally get how tough it can be to find the time to meet new people, build relationships, and truly make meaningful connections, especially when we're swamped with work. If you struggle with this, too, I’d like to share an excerpt from my speech in the hopes of inspiring you to dedicate even a small portion of your week to connecting with others. So, here it is! Let me know what you think! 

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So, I want to start by telling you that I’ve been a business person pretty much my whole life. My parents are Italian immigrants and moved to Mt. Kisco, NY when I was two. My dad had a landscaping business, and my mother was a tailor. I helped them with their businesses starting at a very young age.  I wrote invoices for my dad’s landscaping business in first grade, and I helped my mom create marketing collateral for her tailoring shop on Lexington Ave when I wasn’t much older. I was their translator and, honestly, sometimes, their general manager.

My parents were part of a wave of immigration in the 1960s, where hundreds of people moved to Mt. Kisco from a tiny town in southern Italy called Solano. These people were my parents’ siblings, cousins, and friends.

As a child, I watched them help one another as they launched their small businesses. When my father’s friend had too many clients, he would refer some to my dad. My mother created partnerships with a few local boutiques, where they would send all their tailoring her way. 

I watched over and over how so many of these businesses flourished because of the power of community and because they leaned on each other and were happy to share opportunities.

Fast forward, I ended up having a long career in corporate (where I was a part of building several multi-million dollar businesses) and made it to the C-suite at Time Inc. 

In 2014, I pivoted to startup investing and have written two bestselling books for women in the workplace. When people ask me what I attribute my success to, I say that it all comes back to relationships. Every significant milestone I’ve achieved can be attributed to people opening doors for me, making introductions, championing me, and giving me advice. These are people that I built meaningful, deep relationships with. These are people that genuinely wanted to see me be successful. So many things I’ve achieved can be traced back to the power of connecting.

As a startup investor, I’ve invested in over 30 companies. And you know what I’ve realized: the most successful companies are the ones that have figured out how to connect the dots - they partner strategically with the right people to move their business forward. I hope you’re starting to see a theme here! 

I want to share a very recent example of this. Emily Yeston is the CEO of Doré (a beauty brand). Emily moved to Bedford from the city three years ago. I’ve known Emily for years and was excited to be able to invest in her company when it first launched. Earlier this year, she embarked on raising another, more significant round of financing. She kept hitting brick wall after brick wall (as you can imagine, it’s a rough fundraising environment right now with the economy and the banks collapsing). 

Emily decided to reach out to the CEO of a beauty company (who also happens to live in this area) to ask for advice. Emily shared with the CEO how challenging fundraising had been, and the CEO thought about it and then said, “Wait, I know an investor that might be a good fit for you. I’m going to connect you.” Well, guess what? The investor ended up making a 7-figure investment in Doré. Doré is about to launch with a national retailer and couldn't have done it without this investment – and it all started by connecting with a local entrepreneur over coffee.

So, whether it’s the success of my parents’ small businesses, my multi-chapter career, or a beauty brand, it seems to all come back to the power of connecting. And the great news for all of you is that you have access to an incredible community of business owners – you have access to each other.

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