You can just show up: what ten members told me about Flynt

"I feel I have to sell myself at most networking events." It's a line I've heard often. In contrast, at our third Flynt in-person last week, one member told me she could just show up and have a conversation about a topic she cares about.

On top of our in-person events, while enjoying a slightly cooler and certainly a bit wetter August, I had thirty minute calls with ten of our members and asked everyone to be brutally honest about Flynt. As our community grows, it's worth sharing what I'm learning personally building an experience aimed at more meaningful connections between professionals.

You walk into the room already knowing who you can speak to

In August, we brought 26 Flynt members together in a bar in Bermondsey for our third Flynt in-person. Our events now run every two months by popular demand. Before the night, we match everyone with three people in the room. The matches are just suggestions.

The hardest part of any networking event is walking in. You look around a room of strangers and wonder who to talk to first. At a Flynt evening you arrive knowing three people want to meet you and what you have in common with each of them. One member told me the evenings were when Flynt stopped feeling like a product and started feeling like a community she belonged to.

Our community is full of people who take real interest

The first member we ever matched has met six to eight people on Flynt and got something from every single conversation. One member picked up an AI prototyping technique from a match and now uses it with his whole team. Another had a relaxed chat with no agenda that turned into a referral and an interview at a company she admired. An engineering leader told me his Flynt conversations changed how he built AI tools at work. We matched a lead researcher with a head of department in teaching. Different industry, same problems. She posted about the conversation and people joined Flynt because of it. Members tell me Flynt feels vetted. They join a call expecting a good conversation and usually get one.

More people are using Flynt every month

Engagement with Flynt has grown month on month. Monthly matching is the main reason people join and members go on to use more from there: the in-person events, circles with their colleagues, booking new calls through 'People you might like'. Our growth so far has come from members telling other people about Flynt and now companies are starting to join too.

Great conversations take five minutes of effort a month

One member told me his monthly admin takes five minutes. You set your availability, the match appears in your calendar and the call happens. Another member told me a live conversation stays with you in a way that following someone's posts never does. Both people share fresh availability every month, so you know the person on the other side chose to be there. Other platforms lost people's trust at exactly that point. Flynt isn't perfect at this either. No-shows are rare but they still happen and when they do, we've let a member down. We're investing in ways to stop no-shows. Some members told me reaching out cold always felt daunting. Flynt does the reaching out for them.

People tell each other the truth about their careers

Nearly everyone brought up LinkedIn without me asking. People are tired of selling themselves. One designer, sixteen years in, found Flynt after hearing me speak at a design event last year. She told me her Flynt conversations helped her push past imposter syndrome. In May she spoke on stage at a design event for the first time.

She wants the struggles and the lessons from other professionals, told straight. Flynt gives her that. There's no feed to post to and no audience to impress. Two people, thirty minutes, an honest conversation. This is why we built Flynt. I wrote about the vision in a previous post, all careers should be fulfilling, hearing members describe it back to me unprompted felt like progress.

Members notice the small moments of delight

One member told me she values the moments of delight we've built into Flynt. Revealing your match. Earning a badge. The experience feels human and thoughtful, she said.

Our members are shaping Flynt

Not all the design feedback was praise. Other members told me parts of Flynt felt playful where they wanted professional. So we've redesigned and simplified our homepage and matured the Flynt brand.

We're back at SAMA Bankside in October

You can book your spot now. We'd love to see you there. If you want the full picture of what we've shipped this summer, including the iOS app and Circles, it's all in The biggest Flynt update yet.

To every member who gave me their time and honesty this month: thank you. You showed us what to fix and we're on it. You showed us what to protect and we will.