This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

Start-up work advice

Xuan178·Feb 15, 2021

working at a start-up - is it okay to keep your professional network and contacts separate from the team at the startup?

Iynna·Feb 15, 2021

This is a very interesting and tricky one and my answer is it is up to you to decide and it will really depend on you and the type of relationships you have/want to have. Think about how big your team is, how close are you with everyone, and what the larger implications are if you introduce someone from your network to your team? Personally, I have no problem introducing a very close friend (someone who I go way back with) to my team but I'd think twice if it is someone I have a different type of relationship with (e.g if we are involved in other projects etc)Ultimately relationships are very important and it's important for me to make sure they are value add to both parties (my team and the contact).

clairehamilton·Feb 16, 2021

I've run into this situation before where your team wants everyone to 'leverage' their contacts as an informal way to market or get beta testers. In my opinion you 100% have the right to manage/interact your network the way you want to and your company doesn't have the right to tell you that you have to reach out to them in a certain way.Personally I've always felt like I would be spamming my friends, especially if the startup doesn't have a product/tool that is relevant to my friends. In the past when teams have asked me to share with contacts I've replied something like 'I'll reach out to anyone I can think of'. If I have friends who may be interested I'll connect with them and if I don't have friends who I think would be interested I just won't reach out to anyone.Ultimately your employer should be hiring you for your skills at your job, not how many people you're connected with on LinkedIn so do what you feel comfortable with.