Meet Jan Mercer Dahms. As a professional speaker, trainer, and avid networker, it is hard to be in the same room (even a virtual one) with Jan and not be inspired. To say that Jan has had an eclectic career just begins to tell the story. When looking through Jan's incredible journey, there are a few things that stick out and the one we will be focusing on today is around the power of the network. There are many things that defines one ability to succeed- intelligence, grades, alma matter, hustle, etc but what is rarely discussed is the powerful role the network plays and how detrimental the lack of a network can be to success of all kinds. I never fully understood the saying "It's not what you know, but who you know" until moving to NYC 14 years ago where I was constantly reminded of the importance of your network, or in my case, lack of network. Having a strong network gets you past the initial resume review, that first round of an interview, meeting with that hard to reach VC, and in touch with that journalist whose writing is seen by everyone who matters in the industry. Building a network takes years and a lot of effort. So how has networking and opportunities associated with it shifted to the digital world? I sat down with Jan to discuss further. See our chat below!