How One Networking Dinner Created 15 Warm Leads in a Single Night

Imad hosted a networking dinner during SXSW 2026 in Austin that brought together agency owners, sales professionals, AI engineers, content creators, and startup founders in a single room.

In one evening, Derrick Small connected with Harrison Coley a general contractor, Thomas who managed Tom Bilyeu and Cody Sanchez social accounts, and Tristan who specializes in sales management and emails.

The dinner also included Chak, a sales professional from Colorado, Ethan, a sales professional preparing to study opera in Italy, and RFOGain, a CPA who does taxes specifically for creators.

Each connection represents a different node in the deal flow network: some are potential clients, some are potential referral partners, and some are potential collaborators on future projects.

Harrison Coley used to be roommates with Casey from Divine on Whop — a connection that bridges two completely separate networks into one through a single shared contact.

Gulfcoast Boosh works with the founder of RoboTax and is documenting a film for potentially Netflix — proof that the most interesting connections happen at informal gatherings, not formal conferences.

The dinner produced more qualified warm leads in a single evening than most agency owners generate through months of cold email campaigns and LinkedIn outreach.

Imad is the connector — the person who convenes the room — and treating that relationship well is the single highest-leverage networking move because every event he hosts is another room full of opportunities.

The key lesson is that deal flow is a function of proximity: being physically present in a room with ambitious, connected people produces opportunities that digital outreach simply cannot replicate.

Derrick Small and Chak stayed up until 3 AM talking about AI, sales, life, and nurturing your inner potential — the kind of deep connection that turns a contact into an ally.

A potential affiliate relationship for RoboTax referrals through Imad means the dinner could generate passive revenue streams in addition to direct consulting deals.

One networking dinner, one evening, fifteen warm connections — each one a potential thread that leads to a consulting engagement, a partnership, or an introduction to someone even more valuable.