from the willow office
We make introductions that begin with an observation.
We read what you write, watch what you make, listen to what you say - and when something we notice makes us think of someone you should know, we make the introduction.
the office
The email you received began with something a person actually read or watched - not with a bio scraped from a profile. We make introductions slowly, in the course of paying close attention. This page exists in case you want to verify that.
what we noticed
Each introduction begins with something specific.
Three openings, of the kind that begin our introductions. Each came from actually reading, watching, or listening to what the recipient produced - never from a bio scrape. The match always flows from the noticing.
I read your interview with the trade publication last week, specifically the part where you described why you let your first sales hire go after six weeks…
I watched the talk you gave at the founders’ summit - the moment near the end where you said the quiet part out loud about pricing during the downturn…
I saw the launch announcement on Monday and was struck by the language you used about the trade-off between the two product directions you considered…
the other side
What we ask of the people we represent.
An introduction is only as careful as the office making it. We recommend; we do not broker. We extend our name only on behalf of people whose work we have read closely enough to vouch for. The bar is short:
- Their work is good enough to read closely. We have.
- We have watched them solve the kind of problem we are introducing them into.
- They treat the introduction as a beginning, not a closing tactic.
- They are patient enough for fewer introductions, made better.
- They earn the warmth of a recipient who feels noticed by a stranger.
two sides
Two ways to end up on this page.
you received our email
Something specific we read or watched made us think of someone you should know. The introduction is already drafted; we wanted to confirm the timing was right before sending it.
you do work that warrants noticing
If your work is the kind someone might write a thoughtful paragraph about, and you’d rather be introduced narratively than scaled into, the office is open.
who runs the office
One reader. One writer. One sender.
There is no team behind the email. Attention does not scale, and we would rather not pretend it does. The office is small on purpose, so that every introduction can be read into existence.
What you are looking at here is the same person who wrote you. Reachable, accountable, slow on purpose.
postscript
A few questions, in case they have not been answered.
- Why did this come from you, and not from someone I already know?
- Because the people who already know you are working from inside the same view. We read your work from a few rooms over and noticed something they could not - and we know someone whose work answers it.
- How is this paid for?
- There is no fee for receiving an introduction. The office is paid by the person on the other side, only if the introduction turns into a working relationship. So we are paid to notice carefully, not to introduce often.
- Are we on a list?
- No. We do not maintain lists. We follow the work of specific people in the course of our own, and we write when something we read makes a match feel right. If the timing is wrong, we make a brief note so we do not write you twice.
the introduction
If you would like the introduction we drafted, would like to be introduced this way to someone yourself, or simply want to confirm what arrived in your inbox, fifteen minutes is enough. The link below reaches the office calendar.