Kind Folks Finish First

Chapter 4Powered by Generosity

I'd been convening people for years. Even in my personal life, I'd always been the one organizing Guys Weekend every summer where we'd all go rent a house in the woods for a long weekend and hang out and laugh and grill and drink and play cards.

Gathering others and facilitating discussions became a superpower of mine. The awkward silences and grasping for conversation that usually accompanies networking events make my skin crawl. I hated the mindless chitchat that never really seemed to serve a purpose. Traditional networking always felt like you were just collecting a list of names for clout. I wanted to find points of true connection with others. To see where I could help them out or help them solve a challenge.

That is what still fuels me to this day. Helping others succeed is core to my being. It is my reason for being.

The Origins of Generosity

I don't remember when I first struck upon the idea that doing something for someone else and not needing anything in return felt so good. At some point between my time at Axial and when the business of Pavilion fully emerged, I had hit on this very simple concept.

Perhaps it's because it's such a challenge—like trying to unlock a very specific kind of puzzle piece. Maybe it was from my years spent at Gerson Lehrman Group, an expert networking company that was effectively about matchmaking. Maybe it was my Jewish roots—perhaps some part of my DNA was a yenta in Poland trying to find exactly the right ...