If you’re introverted, new somewhere, or the only woman in a room full of men, "just put yourself out there" is not advice; it’s pressure. In this episode, community builder Tzufit Herling shows how she actually builds a network from zero, on purpose, without becoming someone she’s not. We talk about how to find the right communities, how to choose which ones deserve your time, why giving value first beats self-promotion, and how to build real connections when you work from home and barely see anyone.
About Tzufit Herling: Tzufit helps organizations, founders, and professionals grow through communities. She founded Connecteur, a certified Meta community management company, and has spent close to a decade building professional communities across ecosystems and countries. She built her own network the hard way, as a deep introvert who moved to a country where she knew no one.
Connect with Tzufit:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzufitherling/
Website: http://www.connecteur.co/
Chapters:
00:00 – The all-male meetup nobody warns you about
00:26 – Welcome and who is Tzufit Herling
01:57 – Moving to Portugal with zero connections
02:47 – Just look for meetups and start asking
03:44 – Observe first: the humble way to enter a room
06:08 – "People think I’m an extrovert. I’m not."
07:47 – How an introvert builds connection on purpose
09:05 – Give value before you expect anything back
10:20 – How to prioritize communities without drowning
12:22 – Why building a network is like Dating
13:37 – How we met: online turning into offline
14:39 – Networking when you work from home
16:24 – What a community consultant actually does
20:29 – Should you build a community? How to validate
22:48 – Why it takes time: invest in people first
27:25 – Why women’s communities can’t be replaced
28:22 – Circling a room full of men
30:18 – Find one community and get out of your comfort zone
Connect with Limor:
Podcast: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/
Substack: https://limorbergman.substack.com
Questions this episode answers: how do I network if I’m an introvert, how do I build a network in a new city, how do women network in male-dominated industries, how do communities help your career, how do I make professional connections working from home.
