Today, we’re diving into the fascinating world of networking and visibility with Mary McKenna, an entrepreneur and angel investor who knows a thing or two about making connections that count. Mary shares her journey from corporate life to the vibrant startup scene in Northern Ireland, where she co-founded initiatives like Awaken Hub and Awaken Angels, dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs. We’ll explore how visibility is crucial for startups looking to attract talent and investment, and Mary’s unique approach to maintaining her network through her "100 People" initiative. This episode is packed with actionable insights and inspiring stories that will help you elevate your online presence and grow your business. So grab a seat, and let’s get into how we can all plant our own flowers in the entrepreneurial garden!

Join host Louise as she sits down with Mary McKenna MBE, an exited technology founder, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur who describes herself as a "critical friend and backer of horses."

In this inspiring conversation, Mary shares her journey through three distinct career phases, from finance director to startup founder to her current portfolio of investments and mentorship roles.

Guest Bio

Mary McKenna MBE is an entrepreneur, innovator, thought leader, advisor, and angel investor based in Northern Ireland. She is the co-founder of Awaken Hub, Ireland's first social enterprise for women founders, and Awaken Angels, Ireland's first and only women-led angel syndicate. Mary received her MBE for services to digital technology, education, and innovation.

Key Topics Discussed

Career Journey

1. Three phases: corporate employee, startup founder, angel investor/mentor
2. Co-founding and selling Learning Pool
3. Transitioning from wage slave to entrepreneurial freedom

Current Roles & Impact

1. Entrepreneur in Residence at University of Oxford and Ulster University
2. Investment committee member at Coin Invest Capital (Lithuania)
3. Mentoring hundreds of founders annually
4. Building Awaken Hub and Awaken Angels

Women in Tech & Startups

1. 
   
2. Challenges women face in raising early-stage financing
3. The importance of flexible accelerator programs for working mothers
4. Building Ireland's first women-led angel syndicate
5. Supporting women founders across the island of Ireland

Networking & Visibility

1. 
   
2. The "100 People" exercise for maintaining your network
3. Building a network of value, not just utility
4. Why networking is a long-term investment
5. The importance of being in credit with your network

Startup CEO Challenges

1. 
   
2. The two hardest jobs: attracting talent and raising investment
3. Why visibility matters for recruitment
4. The mindset differences between corporate and startup culture
5. Speaking engagements and building your profile

Key Quotes

"I call myself a critical friend and backer of horses"

"Planting a thousand flowers and seeing which of them grow"

"Networks are about we, we, we - not me, me, me"

"Every opportunity in business is attached to a person"

"I always like to be in credit with my network"

Resources Mentioned

1. Awaken Hub - Social enterprise supporting women founders across Ireland
2. Awaken Angels - Ireland's first women-led angel syndicate
3. Learning Pool - E-learning company co-founded by Mary
4. Coin Invest Capital - Lithuanian sovereign investment fund

Connect with Mary

1. LinkedIn: Mary McKenna
2. Blue Sky: @MaryMcKenna

About the Host

Louise is a LinkedIn expert and author of "Raise Your Visibility on LinkedIn" who helps professionals and businesses build their online presence and networks of value.

Episode Highlights

1. [00:02:00] Mary's six-word introduction
2. [00:04:00] The three phases of Mary's career
3. [00:09:00] Starting Awaken Hub during COVID
4. [00:14:00] The two hardest jobs for startup CEOs
5. [00:21:00] Networking and people collecting
6. [00:28:00] The "100 People" exercise

Tags

#WomenInTech #Entrepreneurship #AngelInvesting #Startups #Networking #Visibility #WomenFounders #NorthernIreland #Leadership #Mentorship

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review. Share with anyone who would benefit from Mary's insights on building networks, supporting women founders, and creating visibility in business.

Takeaways:

1. In this episode, we learned the importance of visibility for entrepreneurs, especially women, to secure investment in their startups.
2. Mary's journey from corporate finance to entrepreneurship highlights the value of adaptability and continuous learning in the business world.
3. Awaken Hub serves as a vital community for women founders in Ireland, addressing the need for support and visibility in a male-dominated industry.
4. Networking is not just about connections; it's about building reciprocal relationships that foster mutual benefit and growth over time.
5. The concept of 'planting a thousand flowers' emphasizes experimentation in entrepreneurship, where not every idea will bloom, but some will thrive beautifully.
6. Mary's practice of reconnecting with 100 people each year showcases a proactive approach to maintaining and refreshing one’s professional network.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Awaken Hub
2. Learning Pool
3. Invest Capital
4. Elemental Software

Welcome to Raise youe Visibility Online.

Join Louise Brogan, a LinkedIn expert, CEO and dynamic mum turned YouTuber as she dives into the world of B2B companies and entrepreneurial success.

Each episode brings conversations with business owners and industry experts who leverage LinkedIn and video to attract leads and scale their ventures.

Get ready for actionable insights, real world strategies and inspiring stories that will elevate your online presence and help you grow your business.

Hello and welcome to today's episode of Raise your Visibility Online.

And I have a amazing guest for you today who I'm kind of, I mean, like, I'm amazed I find time in your schedule, Mary, to actually get you on the show.

So thank you very much.

Always for you, louise.

So, Mary McKenna, thank you.

Mary McKenna is an entrepreneur, innovator, operator, thought leader, advisor, investor, serial tech entrepreneur.

You're going to have to tell me about.

I think that's an entrepreneur in residence, EIR angel, non exec director, which we know from Carrenza Jennings episode she did with us MC blogger and speaker.

And Mary, my favorite part of your LinkedIn profile says planting a thousand flowers.

I learned that little saying a long, long time ago, Louise, and I love it as well.

You know, it's about, it's about putting the bread on the water and seeing what drops.

Or it's about, as it says, planting a thousand flowers and seeing which of them grow.

It's a great, it's a great principle to live by, I think.

Yes.

So, Mary, for people who don't know who you are, could you introduce yourself, please?

Yes, I will.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today, Louise.

I am really pleased to be with you.

So I guess I call myself an exited technology founder and these days angel investor.

We do this thing at Awaken Hub where people have to introduce themselves in six words.

My six words are critical friend and backer of horses.

Because that kind of takes in the investment side of things, which some people say is a little bit like, if you do early stage investment, it's a little bit like backing horses, so choosing which horses you're going to back, you know.

And I guess in terms of my own career, I always, I always think about this in, in when I look back on my long, long career, I think of it in three different stages.

There's stage one, when I was a wage slave employee, worked in the corporate world, was a very traditional finance director for a professional membership company in an accountancy body in the city of London.

Oh, wow.

Climbing up that greasy pole that everybody has to do at the beginning of their careers.

And then the second part of my career is when I left that behind.

So what happened was, first of all I worked in other people's startups.

I then started with a co founder, started my own, started my own business and subsequently, and that was Learning Pool here in Northern Ireland.

And I sold my half of that business just over 10 years ago.

And then we move on.

Each phase of my career gets better and gives me more freedom.

So now I'm in stage three, which is what I've done since selling Learning Pool and that is a whole portfolio of different things that I enjoy, which is, I would say about half of my working time I spend on pro bono projects.

Trustee of charities, building Awaken Hub with my three co founders, which is a social enterprise, you know, doing lots of different pro bono work, like being one of the entrepreneurs in residence at University of Oxford, which is really rewarding and interesting.

Doing that same sort of entrepreneur in residence for local schools here in Northern Ireland.

And then the bulk of the time, I suppose on the pro bono side, goes in having the one to one mentoring sessions with founders and chatting to them about businesses that they're starting.

And I do literally hundreds of those every year.

And that's the bit that really gives me a kick.

It's something that I enjoy and I really like.

Yes, I like the way that sometimes the things that you chat to people about really land, but you don't realize that they have and you see that person five years later or something for a coffee and they say to you, do you remember that call that we had five years ago?

You said such and such to me that day and it actually changed my business and changed my life and you don't even realize that that's happened.

Oh, I love that.

Something that's gone on in the background, which is all part of the whole serendipity and everything like that.

What an amazing impact to have on people.

Like, and then I have jobs as well.

I do have some work that I do this year.

I've got a couple of new projects.

I'm the newly appointed entrepreneur in residence at Ulster University, attached to the business school there.

And it's a Royal Society appointment.

It's very prestigious.

There was a long application process and a lot of competition.

The Royal Society selected the 15 entrepreneurs in residents across the United Kingdom this year for the hell of it.

I have joined a sovereign investment fund in Lithuania called Invest Capital.

I've joined their investment committee.

We meet once a week.

I did this because I realized that I didn't really know an awful lot about the Baltic States.

It really has a very exciting and vibrant startup ecosystem and investment ecosystem and so I am fast making myself Ireland's expert on the Baltic States in terms of startups and investments.

So anybody out there wants to know about that, look me up and give me a shout.

Amazing.

Do you have any downtime, Mary?

Not a lot actually, I have to say, but I guess that everybody in their lives works towards you work towards a place where you might eventually retire.

And I'm not quite at that point yet, but I have started sort of thinking about it.

I continue to invest in early stage businesses and as you know, when you put your money in, you realize that you're not going to get it back for a few years.

So, yes, I haven't got quite to the stage where I'm not buying the green bananas, but I am sort of thinking about it, you know.

Well, I mean, well, my husband, who is not an entrepreneur, we talk about retirement and he has a plan, he's a plan to retire and he talks to me and he says, you're never going to retire, are you, like, well, like there's just so much to do.

It's, you know, like you're talking about your pro bono charity work.

I think I, I could do that.

That would be fun to do.

Not yet, but it's always nice though.

When people have a plan and I'm always very jealous of those people.

But I think with entrepreneurs you do come across entrepreneurs who have retired several times and they've been retired weeks or a couple of months and then somebody's come along one day with a project and they're like, yeah, I'm up for that.

And they're back.

Yes, can't resist.

I love it.

They do say though that if you enjoy what you do, it isn't really like.

It's not really like work, is it?

Yes, I agree, I agree about having in Donegal.

Don't you live in Donegal, Mary?

I'm from County Tyrone but I spend a good bit of time here in Donegal these days.

Yeah, I don't have to go to Belfast as much as I used to, so it allows me a bit more freedom.

So I didn't realize you're.

Don't.

I knew you were from Tyrone.

My husband is from Tyrone.

There's lots of shouts of Come on, Tyrone.

The Gaelic songs.

He's from Oma.

Oh, I come to dinner.

There you are.

So we're very fond of Turon in this house.

As you should be.

Even though my children were born in County Antrim, they think they're from Tyrone.

Do they?

If they had to choose.

Okay, so, Mary, let's talk about visibility.

I know you do a lot of work.

Well, we've just heard like you're doing so many things, but this.

The people that you work with.

Actually, can you talk a little bit about Awaken Hub and Awaken Angels?

And then I want to go into.

Because that's a lot of startups and a lot of it's all women, I believe.

And I am passionate about more women being seen, heard and visible.

It's something that you touched on before we started recording.

So you tell us a little bit about what it is, first of all, and then let's talk about visual visibility as a CEO of a startup and why it matters.

Okay.

So we started Awaken Hub, which is a social enterprise all Ireland, and it's a community for women founders on the island of Ireland.

We started it very casually as a monthly zoom meeting during COVID I mean, there are an awful lot of programs today for women entrepreneurs, but five years ago there weren't any.

Any at all in Ireland.

We were the first people to start something on a formal basis.

And people asked for women, asked for accelerators.

So we started an online accelerator tailored for women and flexible around their availability.

Yeah, and a few other different programs.

We then built onto that and developed a program called she Scales for companies that were further on.

As we moved through the years, it became really obvious to us that the missing piece of the jigsaw was that women across Ireland are starting great businesses, but they find it a lot more difficult than men to raise early stage financing for their business in terms of equity financing, not borrowing money or paying for their growth out of revenue, but actually taking on investment into their business in exchange for selling a bit of equity.

We started Awaken Angels, which is Ireland's first and only women led angel syndicate.

Most of our investors are women, and anybody that's listening to this podcast that's interested in becoming an angel investor, reach out and chat to us.

The companies that we invest in are 100% women, based on the island of Ireland, and it's taken us into a lot of exciting places about.

About A third of our angel investors are Irish Americans from at the moment from the US Eastern Seaboard, mainly Boston and New York City.

And that as you can imagine, if you've got an investor from the US on your cap table, early doors, it really helps you get started in the US if that's part of your growth strategy as a founder.

So we're very happy with where we are.

We've made our first 10 precede and seed investments and we have just coming up for about 150 angels in the syndicate.

We're proud of what we've achieved and we will continue to expand and grow, we hope.

Brilliant.

I love it.

So what about visibility for these women?

I mean I can't believe there was nothing before the pandemic.

It's shocking.

It's shocking.

Well, wanting me around was such a challenge.

It was so hard and I left it.

I think a lot of the women did to be honest.

It just didn't work around commitments.

It first came home to me when I invested in Elemental Software in Derry with Jennifer and Leanne the first year they were in business.

Very similar to your experience, Louise.

Leanne lived in Derry, she was on an accelerator in Belfast which meant three days a week she had to leave the house at 6 o' clock and get the 6:30 bus to Belfast and she wasn't home until late.

She had a primary school age child, child at the time and it caused all sorts of, you know, her husband had to be the person that started to take care of the kids instead of her and it caused a lot of unnecessary disruption to the family that you didn't really need.

By offering women the chance to do something around lunchtime, in the evening, earlier in the morning or in the afternoon or whatever, just gives them some choices.

So we always offer people a choice.

And online as well.

It's so different now.

I've always been online.

I've worked with clients online, probably coming up on 10 years but now since the pandemic everyone's much more used to it.

So that's, that has really been fabulous.

You no longer have to go all the way from Donegal to London for a one hour meeting with somebody because they insist on seeing you in person.

You can just do it on zoom.

They should go from London to Donegal.

They're missing out.

They never want to do it the other way around.

Louise, why is that they are so messy out.

I tell you what, actually I have a second cousin who is the, is she the CEO?

I think she is of a large organization in London and her bolt hole is a house in Donegal.

So there you go.

But she is from Northern Ireland.

Knows about our secrets.

Yeah.

Yes, she does.

She knows it's the best place to be.

It sure is.

So Mary, you'd said to me about the two hardest jobs for a startup CEO.

Oh, I, I get this first one, attracting talent and raising investment.

Let's talk a little bit about that.

How on earth do you get the right people, your business?

It's a very, very.

It's a dark art.

Bringing the right people into your small growing business, if you get it wrong, causes a lot of heartache and just general bad feeling and really distracts you and slows you down.

But I'm afraid there is no, there is no easy answer in how to go about selecting.

Because as you will know as well as I do, the way that people interview and the way that they behave at interviews, that some people are really just really, really good at interviews and then when they get to work, they're a completely different person.

And so diplomatically.

But it's something that you just have to have to deal with.

Same as if you've got a small business and you employ a lot of women, which we did at Learning Pool, and your entire marketing team is pregnant at the same time, and they all go off on maternity leave.

3 out of 3.

You have to just deal with that and cope with it.

Instead of sitting there and bleating about women, you just find a workaround.

You use your network to go and bring in some additional resources or whatever and you try to look on the positive side of things instead of being negative.

Recruitment's tough, but the visibility part of it is if nobody knows about your company and doesn't know that you exist, they aren't going to come and work for you.

Because people are looking for some sort of stability and longevity in their employment.

So instead of coming to you as a startup, if you're not on the map, they're going to gravitate to the traditional larger types of business because they're organizations that they've heard about and that they think are going to be around next year.

I don't know if you know that.

I worked in the health service as an IT project manager for about 10 years.

And I remember thinking the best workers on the planet for my business would be the band fours and the band fives that work inside the health service in Northern Ireland because they were so smart and so good at their jobs.

But to le, you could never.

I did try and like convince some of them to leave and come with me, but they've got, you know, the whole Northern Irish mindset, oh, it's a good job, you've got a good pension, why would you leave that?

My dad passed away before I started a business and I, I think if it, I probably wouldn't have started business if that hadn't happened.

But I always remember him saying, never, ever work for yourself.

Get a job, go to work, come home, get paid, forget about your job.

But I love what I do, so I'm very happy what I do.

But there is a mindset about that, I think as well for people going.

Back to thinking about Learning Pool as well.

One of the KPIs that we used to use as our company was growing was how many of our customers, all of whom were in the public sector, how many of them asked us for a job at Learning Pool?

So lots of them did.

A small number of them did leave their jobs and come to work for us.

But I would say about half of those people went back into the public sector.

Yeah.

Because they didn't appreciate.

And I'm smiling because I know that you're going to know the answer to this too.

They didn't appreciate that in a startup your work isn't 9 to 5.

All the follow ups, everything else that you do, you usually do that in the evenings when other people are or watching Netflix or drinking wine or whatever it is that people do when they have an all job do, you know.

But they didn't realize that there was this whole band of other stuff that people in a startup do on top of what they do during the day.

Yes.

And they didn't, the pace didn't suit them.

It was too much pressure.

I think there's something in that as well that if you're in a startup and you enjoy the work and you go home, are you on the tree and listening to a podcast about that industry?

If you are, then you're probably in the right place.

Yeah.

I used to always write a quick blog on the EasyJet flight back from London, which I used to do two or three times a week.

I used to take the sick bag out of the, out of the thing on the back of the seat and it was just the right size to write A quick blog on the 45 minutes or whatever that you're on the plane.

So very productive.

Very.

Filling in those little chunks of time with something that you think might eventually add a bit of value somewhere.

Yes.

I actually think I wrote quite a bit of my book on flights.

That's funny.

I was.

Think entrepreneur.

When you're on a plane and you're in economy class and everyone can, you know, people are.

People are dancing at your screen all the time.

And I thought, what do these people across here think?

What I'm doing typing all this stuff?

I'm not watching, like a downloaded film.

Are they reading my book?

Okay, they should be reading your book.

Well, they should be now.

Yes, that's written.

Should be reading your book.

And then they'd have much better jobs.

So, Mary, you are a queen at networking, I think.

Oh, also, we haven't mentioned.

We didn't mention you have an MBA at the start.

Didn't give your official title.

Oh, yes, Very important.

Well done.

Congratulations.

How was that when that came through?

So it's something that I'm actually really proud of.

It came through the same week that I announced that I was leaving Learning Pool.

So the week started a little bit sad and then it picked up and ended up being quite nice.

Yeah.

Yes.

I'm more proud of the fact that it's for services to digital technology and education and innovation.

So there was a whole raft of people that were the first ones to receive MBS around that, you know, around that sector.

And I was one of those.

So I'm very fortunate.

Yes.

Well done.

That's really fabulous.

I just want to talk about your network.

So talk to me about, like.

Because you and I have talked about America a little bit and I'm going over.

So after this podcast comes out, I'm heading over to Boston, which I can't wait for, because, A. I've never been to Boston.

I can't wait.

My husband, before I met him, worked in Boston for a summer, painting houses or something.

He's very unhappy that he's not coming with me on this trip.

How do you like.

What is it about your network?

How do you keep up with people?

Are you a people collector?

Have you always been like this?

Tell me about your approach to networking and people collecting.

And there's something you do about 100 people.

I want to know all about that because I don't know anything about it.

Yeah.

So I think I've always been a people collector.

So my own network is full of people that I've met that I Just genuinely like and have a connection with.

I'm a great believer in not trying to build a network that is just going to serve your own purpose.

Yeah.

You know, not, not just collecting people that you think are going to be useful for you.

That's terrible.

I mean, I think networks are about sort of like we, we, we, not me, me, me.

It's about, it's about what you can do for other people as well as what other people might do for you.

And if you are at heart an accountant, as I really am, at the back of everything else, you kind of keep the little debits and credits running in everything that you do in life.

So I always like to be in credit with my network.

I always like to have done more favors for other people so that when I ask them for a favor, they're going to feel not too bad about doing it for me.

Because that's the real beauty of having a fantastic wide and varied network is, you know, every opportunity in business is attached to a person.

And the truth of the matter is if that person doesn't know you or is not aware of you, then your chances of accessing that opportunity are reduced.

Even if it is the strictest public sector procurement that's ever happened.

If you're known to the person that's buying that service, yes, that is going to improve your chances of winning that opportunity.

So there are a lot of reasons for why you should invest and it's a long term investment in building out your network.

It's not something that you can do overnight.

I think the saddest thing that I ever hear, and it's usually a woman saying this is I understand the importance of networking and building a network, but I just do not have the time to do it.

It's an investment of time now for jam later.

It really is.

Because if you've got a network where you can lift the phone and ask people to help you with something and you know that they're going to help you because you've helped them before or there's been a mutual benefit that's happened somewhere along the way, just makes your life so much easier.

Yeah.

You know this because you wrote a book about it.

I did, yes.

I talk about building a network of value and I think, yeah, my, like my, my book is raise your visibility on LinkedIn.

And I think that my approach to LinkedIn has always been let's connect and build relationships and help people.

And when you do that, the work will come to you.

And I think most of my clients come through, referral it's not like a cold outreach business that I have.

It is generally connections and networks.

And I do.

I suppose I do do a lot of pro bono, really, because I do all these free online webinars and masterclasses, which I love doing.

So selfishly, I get a real kick out of helping people.

It works well for me to be able to do that.

I have to always remember to also build the business.

I was chatting to somebody this morning about the speaking gigs I've got coming up.

I'm going to Dublin, Berlin, Edinburgh, America and Portugal.

Most of them are paying my flights and travel, but that's it.

I'm not getting paid.

And this lady said to me, well, Louise, maybe you need to think about doing some paid speaking gigs.

I thought, yes, I do.

I think that's enough.

Enough of the list.

We're going to speak and not getting.

Paid, but do not ask them for a fee.

You should do well.

This is.

Yes, so.

So I'm.

Yes, I'm working with a coach.

And he said to me, louise, you could ask them if they actually have budget because.

Did you ask them?

And I said, no.

And he says, well, maybe that's your issue.

Yeah, so.

So I.

One of my tips for everybody would be that you should say yes to all the speaking engagements that you're invited to and media appearances and radio shows and things like that.

Always say yes, but kind of do be a little bit selective about it if there are not.

If there are a lot of invitations.

Yeah, because a bit like networking rooms, not all opportunities are equal.

Not all rooms are equal, you know, so think about what you go to and think about what you spend your time doing.

If it is.

If it is on a pro bono basis.

You know, I've only ever really.

I've only ever applied for a job once in my life.

As an undergraduate, I applied for a.

The very first job that I had, I applied for IT through the Guardian newspaper.

That's the only time.

Everything else has just come through.

Has come through my network.

Everything else is just.

I think my first graduate job was in the Guardian too.

I went off to reading and worked in a IT training to be an IT help desk person.

Because I had a degree in geography and I've been backpacking around the world.

I was like, I better get a job now.

They placed me on an IT help desk in Seagrams and in London.

But it was on the night shift.

It was on the night.

No, Mary.

It was most boring thing ever Camerous.

It was really boring because nobody ever Phoned, and when they did, it was like the answer was always, turn your computer on and off again, switch it.

Off and switch it on again.

So I thought, I better do something proper.

So I came home and did a Master's in computing on which I met my husband on the first day.

So that was definitely a good idea.

On the first day.

On the first day.

And then we joke because he basically copied my homework.

Of course he did.

Because you're smart.

Oh, dear.

Yeah.

So then.

Then I got a job with bt.

That was a job interview.

And then I got my job in the health service and that was a job interview.

But that's it since.

So.

So I used to work at BT as well.

I was person number five at this little thing from BT that was called British Telecom Mobile Communications.

Oh, of course, these days they call it O2.

Oh, my goodness.

You're person number five.

I was person number five, yeah.

I worked in the sales team.

Yeah.

I had a mobile phone in my.

In my car, where the battery took up the entire boot of the Mini.

So, you know back in the days when you would ring and say.

You never guess where I'm ringing you from?

Yes.

My son, who's just turned 18, said, mom, when.

When did you get mobile phones?

I think I got my first mobile.

And he's like, their minds are blown that we didn't know.

We weren't so contactable.

And like, different times, Mary, like backpacking round Southeast Asia and go.

How often did you used to phone home?

Yeah.

Every Sunday I would go to an Internet cafe and send my dad an.

Email just to let him know that you're still alive.

Please rush me some money.

Yes, I did do that, actually.

To.

Say how much you need this time?

Oh, dear, dear.

Oh, Mary, tell me about the hundred people you didn't tell.

Didn't talk to me.

Should we finish up with a hundred people, then?

So, yes.

Once you've built your network, it isn't enough to just have all those thousands of people swilling about in your LinkedIn and never do anything with it, you know?

Yes.

So I started this little experiment probably about 10 years ago, and I call it 100 people.

So between Christmas and New Year, I sit down with my book and my LinkedIn and I look through my connections and I select 100 people that I haven't spoken to or heard from in the past two years, but that I want to keep as part of my network.

And that I want to bring back in and sort of like reconnect with and reignite the, the conversations and the relationship.

We need to meet or have a coffee or have a conversation or book a zoom call or whatever.

Now, Louise, I never get to the hundred, right.

100 gets published, but I've never yet managed to see the hundred people or speak to them all in a year.

The most I ever get to is probably about 50%.

And there's a whole, there's, there's a few other people in my network that do this as well.

So we all, we all do this now at Christmas time.

And it is just a, it's a great way of just kind of like thinking about whether, whether there are people in your network that really you shouldn't have there anymore and you need to do a little bit of a cleanup of it or whether there are people there that you just for one reason, another, haven't seen them or haven't chatted to them.

And when you see their name, you remember why you like them and you want to start the conversation again.

So I would really recommend it.

It's great fun and it's good way of.

It's a good way of making sure that your network stays really fresh.

And yes, I love it.

I'm going to go back and look at your LinkedIn and see if I can find your list from this year.

I've written a blog about this on my original When I was a startup founder, I documented my startup journey through a blog which is on a website called Kicking Assets.

And all of my blogs from those early days in the startup are still there, but I think there's something on there about the 100 people.

So I'll send you over the link.

Louise?

Yes, Do I love it.

I love the idea.

I wonder if people get tagged like do you tag them in the.

When you publish this?

Of course I do.

Some people say please don't tag me.

Never.

Nobody's ever said that to me.

There was only one person.

There's only one person in the past 20 years I would say that said no to me when I asked them for something.

Oh, I won't say who it is, but I do hold that as a resentment.

Talking about the debits and credits, you know, that's on the.

I keep that one in my mind.

As I was gonna black mark.

Oh, Mary, we're very similar.

Yeah.

You have to have some standards in life.

You do.

Okay, Mary, thank you so much for coming on today.

It's been really fun.

If people want to find out more about you, where did they go?

Because I did read on your about section, you said connect with me.

But, you know, tell me why.

Because I hate getting those blank LinkedIn requests.

I know it's more difficult for people now because LinkedIn have limited the number that you can send of messages.

But you'll find me on LinkedIn and on Bluesky.

Perfect.

Thank you so much, Mary McKenna, for joining.

Thank you.