Intros when you're the new firm in town

A new firm has no reputation. But its people do. Every warm intro you'll get in the first year comes from trust your people built before the firm existed.

So start with them, not with the firm.

Your people already have a network

Founders forget this. They think "nobody knows us" and go straight to cold outreach.

But the founder spent years somewhere. So did the first few hires. They worked with clients, partners, former bosses and peers who went on to big jobs. Those people don't know your firm. They know you.

Make a list of everyone on the team and where they worked. Then go through each person's LinkedIn connections against your target accounts. Look for two things. First-degree contacts who now sit in or near the buying seat. And second-degree paths where a mutual connection could forward a short note.

That list is your pipeline for the first six months. The post on mapping who you know at a target account walks through how to build it.

Ask for small things

A new firm can't ask for much. You haven't earned it.

So don't ask for a meeting. Ask for a forward. Write a short note the connector can pass along in one click, with a clear reason the buyer might care. Make it easy for them to say no without feeling awkward.

Say a founder left a big consultancy to start a data engineering shop. A former colleague now works with the head of data at a regional insurer. The ask isn't "can you set up a call." It's "would you forward this short note if you think it's relevant? No pressure either way."

That's an ask a friend can say yes to without spending any of their own credibility.

Write a note worth forwarding

The forwarded note does the real work. It has to stand on its own when the buyer reads it.

Keep it short. Name what you noticed about their company, connect it to their seat, offer a guess at the problem and invite correction. Mention the connector by name and the shared history in one line. Leave out the firm's history, the services list and the case studies.

The connector is lending you their name. Write something that makes them look good for having sent it.

Look past the obvious connectors

Clients from past jobs are the first stop. But they're not the only one.

Former colleagues who moved to software vendors often know which accounts have live projects and need services help. Advisors and investors know their portfolio. Alumni networks connect people who never worked together. Partners at other small firms, ones who do adjacent work, can be generous with intros when they trust you.

Your own delivery team counts too. The engineer who joined from a client's competitor knows people there.

Earn the next one

Every intro you get creates a debt. Pay it back.

Tell the connector what happened, even when it went nowhere. Thank them in a way that fits. Help them when they need something. And never make them regret sending you.

A new firm lives or dies on this. One burned intro can close a whole network. One great outcome can open three more doors.

Sometimes the connector says no, or never answers. Fine. Wait a week or two, then go direct with your own researched note. Don't mention the connector without their okay.

Warm before cold is the rule. But cold is still allowed when warm doesn't come through.

After a year of good work, your firm starts having its own name. Clients refer you. Partners send work. The intros come easier.

Until then, you're borrowing trust from the people on your team. Borrow it carefully, and pay it back with interest.