There’s almost always a person behind a career-defining moment.
@foundercaroline opened the Monday Girl NYC Summit on Saturday by asking the room to think back and find that person. The one who changed your trajectory.
Then she walked through five principles for building a real network.
Goodword hosted the networking lunch that followed, bringing together 400 women across industries.
Thank you @joinmondaygirl for gathering this group.
#networking #womeninbusiness #networkingevent
You’re building. Moving fast. Room to room.
Somewhere in the last 90 days, an important follow slipped through the cracks.
Not because the connection didn’t exist. Because everything moves too fast to stay present to what mattered.
That’s the gap @trygoodword closes.
@foundercaroline and @thechrisfischer built the tool that remembers who you know, holds the context, and surfaces the moment — before it passes.
They’re backing 20 founders and builders at Signal NY this Saturday.
Use code GWSIGNALNY to claim a free ticket.
First come basis.
@fabriksocialspaces Dumbo. April 18.
Ticket link in bio.
📷 @ventiviews
Grateful for all of our incredible Founding Connectors that showed up in SF. Our Founding Connector Launch Party brought together some of the city's most thoughtful founders, investors, and operators for an evening of real conversation and connection. Founding Connectors, welcome to Goodword 🤝 thank you @chief.network for hosting us and thank you to @jpmorgan and @perkinscoiellp for powering the evening!!
Video by @shootitstudio_sf
#professionalnetworking #sftech #goodword #foundercommunity #eventrecap
A sneak peek of our LA Founding Connector Launch Party last night hosted at @chief.network 's beautiful West Hollywood clubhouse.
Founding Connectors are the early members shaping @trygoodword , an AI-powered networking Chief of Staff built to help you remember, follow up, and make the right introductions at the right time.
Thank you, @ventiviews , for the amazing recap video!
See you on 4/2, SF 🤝 link in reel to try Goodword today
#networkingtips #femalefounded #founderstory #startupcommunity #networkingevents
Our Co-Foundee @foundercaroline was featured in @incmagazine sharing what she's learned about hiring while building @trygoodword 🙌
Two lessons that stuck:
1️⃣ Your network is your best hiring pipeline. Caroline's first technical hire was someone she'd already worked with — he started part-time and became our full-time tech lead.
2️⃣ Bet on commitment over credentials. An early candidate was overqualified but willing to take a step back in title to join the mission. She's now a senior VP.
"When someone with impressive credentials is willing to step back to join your mission, that's a signal of deep commitment." - @foundercaroline
Link in comments to read the full piece — five founders on what they wish they'd known before making big hires!
Thank you, @mkhid from @hugimals , for including Caroline's stories 🤝
#IncMagazine #StartupHiring #FounderLessons #Networking #TeamBuilding
She built a 20-year accelerator for women founders — and it started with a senior woman who told her: “You’re on your own.”
Amy Millman spent decades at the center of Washington’s relationship economy — first as a lobbyist, then running StageNext Fund, one of the earliest accelerators for women entrepreneurs. She sat down with us for Women’s History Month and didn’t hold back.
💬 What’s the best relationship advice you’ve ever received?
Everything is personal. Not “it’s just business” — everything is personal. The most important thing isn’t how smart you are or how well you crunch numbers. It’s understanding people, knowing what matters to them, and figuring out what you can offer them first.
💬 What’s the worst networking advice you’ve ever heard?
“I only go out to lunch with people I’m already doing business with.” Someone actually said that to her. The lesson she took: not everyone is a connector — and you have to read that about people quickly. Stop assuming everyone wants what you want from a conversation.
💬 Tell us about a person who changed the trajectory of your career.
A woman sought her out to run a federal commission on women’s business ownership. Amy had zero experience. She told her that. The woman looked at her skill set anyway and said: “Here’s how this will evolve for you.” They’re still in touch 30+ years later. “That eye she had for talent — something she saw in me that I didn’t see in myself — I always respected that.”
💬 What’s a piece of networking advice that works great for men but never worked for you?
Play golf. In DC, she was told it was non-negotiable if she wanted to get the attention of the men who mattered. She tried. She was terrible. They didn’t take her seriously. Her fix: find out what someone cares about outside of sports, and connect on that. And when you walk into a room of 200 people, pick two or three faces you want to find — go in with a focus, not a panic.
Her first boss pulled her aside eight months into the job.
"You need to leave."
@cateluzio is founder and CEO of @weareluminary , the global professional education and networking platform. I sat down with her for our Women's History Month series: In the Company of Women by @trygoodword . Her take on building a real network is more practical, and more demanding, than most advice I've heard.
💬 The best relationship advice she's ever received:
"Think of your relationships like a board you'd want to curate." Who's in your personal boardroom? Operators, connectors, truth-tellers, mentors, sponsors. Work from there — invest intentionally, so when you need them, they're there.
💬 The worst networking advice she's heard:
"Have your ask ready." Going in with an ask before you've built the relationship tends to backfire fast. "Guns blazing might work once. It kills the relationship before it starts."
💬 One person who changed the trajectory of her career:
The CFO at her first nonprofit job told her to leave — not because she wasn't performing, but because she was going to get stuck. He pushed her into the private sector at the start of the tech boom. "He normalized ambition for me. He gave me permission I didn't know I needed."
💬 What works for men but never worked for her:
She pushes back on the premise. She grew up in male-dominated environments — tech, then two decades in finance — and never approached networking with a gender lens. "If they're doing it based on facts, I'm not bragging. I'm just going to do it bigger."
Follow Cate — she's built Luminary so more women can build the kind of network she describes 💪
#womenshistorymonth #womenfounders #buildinpublic #networkingtips #careertips
The Golden Rule is actually bad networking advice.
Treat people how you want to be treated? @mallorycontois reframes it: treat people how they want to be treated.
Real relationship-building starts with curiosity.
First of 30+ conversations this month with women who think differently about how careers are built. Follow along.
Founder spotlight from our January Shortlist Founder Showcase at betaworks 🎥
Goodword is building your relationship copilot.
Most professionals know networking drives success — but 79% have lost real opportunities simply because they didn’t stay in touch. The problem isn’t making connections. It’s maintaining them.
On stage, Caroline showed us how they’re solving this: surfacing the right people from your network, remembering the context that matters, and helping you show up at the perfect moment — before opportunities slip away.
(P.S. They’re hiring 👀)
Thank you Eitan Miller / Boundless Creative for the amazing visuals!!
83% of professionals say relationships are their most valuable asset. So why are most of us still terrible at maintaining them?
We surveyed hundreds of professionals about networking in the AI era for our State of Human Connection in 2026 report. The findings confirmed what we all already know, and that's the problem.
We all agree relationships matter. Then we let the important ones die anyway. The partnership that went cold. The friend who drifted after COVID. The intro we meant to make but never did.
The cost is invisible — there's no notification that says "you just lost a deal because you forgot to follow up." But it's very real.
One quote from the research that stuck with us: "I want AI to be my memory, not my voice."
That's exactly what we're building at Goodword. Read the full report at the link in bio.
📸 by @kostromina.photography
Thank you @madelaineczufin for hosting us and to @perkinscoiellp for bringing this breakfast to life!!
#ProfessionalNetworking #FutureOfWork #CareerGrowth #PersonalCRM #NetworkingTips
We hosted a breakfast gathering on Wednesday morning to celebrate the launch of our inaugural research report on the State of Human Connection in 2026 with @smarterinasec 🤝 full recap post coming soon.
Thank you so much for hosting us, @madelaineczufin , and thank you to @perkinscoiellp for making this possible!!
Video by @kostromina.photography
#networkingtips #goodword #relationshipcapital #humanconnection #nycstartup
Be honest — when's the last time you reached out to someone you've been meaning to catch up with? We surveyed 542 professionals. 81% said they've regretted not keeping in touch. 79% have lost a real opportunity because of it.
It's not that people don't care. It's that staying connected is hard.
That's why we built Goodword, and why we just published The State of Human Connection in 2026. Full report in bio. What stat hits home for you?
Research collaboration with @smarterinasec 🤝
#NetworkingTips #FutureOfWork #AI
