Chapter 1: The Wake-Up Call
It was a Tuesday morning, and my routine was broken. Instead of my feed, I was met with a sterile, automated message: \"Your account has been restricted.\" Panic, frustration, and a deep sense of injustice rushed in. For days, proposals stalled, warm leads went cold, and the carefully curated network of 3,000+ connections I thought I relied on was locked away. I felt digitally amputated.
The Moment of Clarity
"When the platform disappeared, so did the illusion. What remained were the relationships that never needed an algorithm to begin with."
But as the initial anger subsided, it left room for a more profound question: How many of these people did I really know? How many would I recognize at a conference, feel comfortable calling directly, or want to have a genuinely deep conversation with? The uncomfortable answer: not that many.
A Deep Reflection on My 5.5 Year Entrepreneurship Journey
LinkedIn sells us the dream of scale—that more connections equal more opportunity. The restriction ripped away that illusion. My personal network, which has thrived for 5.5 years, wasn't built on a vast, nebulous network. It was built on two things—and neither required a LinkedIn feed.
01 — Event-Led Connections
Breakout sessions, late-night founder dinners, hallway conversations—all the pivotal moments had a name, a face, and a shared experience long before they got logged online.
02 — Word-of-Mouth Flywheel
Every warm intro came from someone we delivered for. They vouched for us because we solved a painful problem—and that trust moved faster than any content strategy ever could.
The Platform Is a Facade, Not a Foundation
Being locked out was a brutal reminder that we are just tenants on someone else's platform. Our \"homes\" can be seized by a landlord who doesn't know us and doesn't owe us an explanation. The restriction forced a spring cleaning I didn't know I needed. It asked me: Who are your people—not your contacts, your people?
Real Network Audit
- The number of people I'd call in a crisis is in the dozens—not the thousands.
- The clients who extend trust do it because of outcomes, not endorsements.
- The most meaningful opportunities stemmed from deep relationships with shared scars, not shared posts.
Build Your Community, Not Your Contact List
So thank you, LinkedIn, for the restriction. Not because it was pleasant—it wasn't—but because it was a necessary disruption. It confirmed that our sales will continue to be event-led and word-of-mouth, because trust is built in person and validated through delivery. And it reminded me that the only digital asset I truly own and control is the one I've been building all along: my own domain, where I can host real conversations with the people who actually matter.
"Your network isn't the number of contacts who recognize your name. It's the people whose lives—and businesses—got better because of your work."
Build your community, not your contact list. The most powerful networks are the ones grounded in trust, depth, and shared experience. The restriction wasn't the setback it felt like in the moment—it was the audit I needed to recommit to what works.
Want to talk about building resilient founder networks?
I'd love to swap stories with fellow founders navigating similar challenges. Reach out if you want to compare notes on community-led growth, AI-native GTM, or just need a sounding board.