For some people, networking comes naturally — and they’re the ones everyone turns to when they need an intro or a recommendation.
Joe Mindak is one of those people, but he thinks his network is worth something. He wrote a book titled Connectors Get Paid: Build a Referral Network That Pays, and co-founded Nolodex, a software platform that facilitates cash for connections.
How it works
The Nolodex platform hosts individual communities. Community owners pay a $129/month fee to license the software, but determine their own membership rules, fees, and commission structures. For example, some are invite-only, while others may accept only alumni of a particular university.
- Members can refer each other to their contacts both inside and outside of the community. If a business deal is reached, referrers receive a cut. If there’s no deal, there’s no payout.
- Nolodex tracks every referral, establishing a paper trail showing who introduced whom, whether a deal was made, what it was worth, what it paid out, and other details.
Who it benefits
Many community owners are already networking groups — chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations, etc. They can choose to receive a percentage of members’ commissions.
Well-connected members get paid, of course, while small businesses that lack a sales force — and introverted or less-connected members — benefit from their recommendations.
Mindak describes it as a flywheel where people continue to refer their connections who do good work.
“You’re not introducing someone just because you want to get paid. It’s your reputation on the line. If I introduce you to somebody and you do a bad job, that’s on me,” Mindak said.
Mindak’s own community has grown to 550 members with 4.3k active deals, while another 600 are in play across the other ~30 communities on the platform.
It’s an especially interesting model…
… at a time when LinkedIn and other platforms are flooded with AI and you’re never quite sure if you’re talking to a bot, but Mindak said Nolodex is all about “going old school,” making introductions, and building relationships.
In fact, he’s about to close his biggest deal yet… thanks to a guy he met at the YMCA.
