Jotform Founder Says Weak Ties Beat Working the Room
The column cites Mark Granovetter's 1973 Stanford study finding that casual acquaintances supply more new information than close contacts.
· 1 min read
The founder of the online form company Jotform argued in a column published by Entrepreneur on October 14, 2026, that founders who dislike conventional networking events should focus on loose acquaintances rather than on collecting contacts in hotel ballrooms.
The writer, who identifies as an introvert, said he avoided networking events for years while building Jotform but still valued keeping in touch with people in his industry — forwarding an article, congratulating a former colleague on a new venture or messaging a founder after a product release.
The column points to a 1973 study by Stanford sociologist Mark Granovetter, which found that peripheral acquaintances, or "weak ties," are more useful sources of new information and job leads than close contacts, because people in a tight circle tend to know the same things and the same people.
His advice: deliberately seek out people outside the usual circle, reach out before there is a favor to ask, and keep contact light enough that the connection does not go cold.
This item summarizes an opinion column; the views are the author's.
This story was first reported by entrepreneur.com.
Comments