Some introductions happen no matter what, two people who were always going to meet eventually, one way or another. Larry Chiang’s instinct is to ask whether you should be paid for making that introduction happen sooner rather than later. This is not about charging for basic kindness, it is about recognizing when your introduction carries real, provable value to both sides.
His rule to attack the money rather than chase a follow or a thank you applies directly here, since a finder’s fee is money, and gratitude alone is not. The fee only makes sense when the introduction saves real time or opens a real door that would have stayed shut without you. Ask for it plainly, a flat fee or a small percentage if the introduction turns into a deal, stated before you make the call, not after.
This is different from karma, which Larry treats as separate: thank, forgive, tip, reciprocate fast, none of which involve an invoice. You can run both at once, take the finder’s fee on the deals that clearly warrant one, and keep sending free introductions where karma is the better currency.
Larry’s own story is that a simple thank you note is what landed him a Nike sponsorship, which he offers as his account of how reciprocity paid off, not a formula that repeats for everyone. The mistake is charging for every introduction out of habit, since that turns you into a toll booth people start avoiding.
Save the fee for introductions that clearly create money on the other side, and let the small ones stay free and build goodwill instead. Before your next introduction, decide on purpose whether this one is a karma deposit or a paid finder’s fee, then say so out loud.
Details: Watch Larry talk finder’s fees
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