When networking
no longer felt optional.
I've never enjoyed networking for the sake of networking. I've always preferred relationships that happened naturally — shared interests, real conversations, no agenda.
That changed when I lost my job and networking stopped being optional.
The problem
Too often, conversations start with an ask before a relationship exists. Timing matters. Confidence matters. Status matters. And when you're actively looking for opportunities, every interaction can feel transactional.
At the same time, I kept hearing the same stories from others: ghosting, silence, thousands of applicants competing for the same roles.
Most solutions focus on helping people navigate the hiring process. I became more interested in what happens before that — the relationship, the conversation, the moment two people discover they have something meaningful to talk about.
The question
So I kept coming back to one thing:
What would make networking feel routine, before it ever feels urgent?
Throughout my career, I've helped build products that make complex processes easier to navigate. Networking, I realized, has the same problems — too much friction, too little structure, too much left to chance.
Neddle is my answer to that question: building professional relationships should feel more human, less transactional, and easier for everyone involved.
What we believe
Networking is a skill, not a personality trait.
Conversation creates more signal than profiles alone.
Consistency matters more than intensity.
Better systems reduce social friction.
Data should improve the product for the people using it.
The ambition
Neddle is pre-launch. Right now, it's an idea, a point of view, and a growing list of people who think networking should be easier to start, easier to keep up, and built around real conversations. This site is the first step.
The bigger ambition is to make neddling a verb — the everyday act of keeping your network warm through small, real conversations, so that when it matters, the relationships are already there.