Ron Conway would be privy to plans of many companies, and in connecting it reinforces his deal flow as startups think "he may not invest, but he may know a firs

Ron Conway would be privy to plans of many companies, and in connecting it reinforces his deal flow as startups think "he may not invest, but he may know a first customer or an alliance partner with whom he is also privy, and then if he does invest, we know he'll be doing the same for us permanently without us asking." In this case, Conway's benefit from the connecting is a reputation of such that causes further deal flow, and this is the fuel of his business. Other forms of monetizing connecting include finders fees, commissions, and direct work to realize the connection, eg documentation in an M & A deal. But if the connecting has no direct benefit to oneself in the ways mentioned, the only thing one can expect to gain at best is improving one's aura, frequently just being sidetracked, or at worst doing something for a competitor. -- if one does a random connect and one has no direct relevancy to the underlying commerce, the parties at best may remember you if you ask for some type of help later (they may also request or expect more free service from you, seeing you as a sucker), and at worst want to avoid you in the event they fear you'll want or demand a share of the gains later from the success of the connection with which they never requested.