Erica Young - Cultivating Networks & Communities
Joining me this week is Erica Young, Head of Community and Network at Anthemis Group, a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in companies that will help drive change in the financial system.
Erica is a life-long student of networks and is also the founder of The Reliants Project, where she helps people and organisations understand how networks shape our wellbeing, relationships and community. She uses techniques developed in the fields of computer science, physics, and sociology to map existing people and organisation networks and generate insights.
We had a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, covering the distinction between networks and communities, how our shift to virtual working has accelerated the development of online communities, and whether they augment or can replace traditional organisations.
We also dug into the importance of cultivating your network, including why it's an advantage to 'compartmentalise' and nurture various types of relationship, from close to weak ties.
Finally, we explore overcoming a fear of networking, how to approach network building when going it alone, and why technology is removing friction from the process.
LINKS:
Erica's newsletter, The Reliants Project