Hey,
I’m Sydney Liu.

I used to pretend I hadn’t seen people.

If I saw somebody I knew on the street, I would literally turn the other way. I didn’t grow up with much emphasis on networking, and talking to people didn’t always come easily.

There was still a part of me that wanted to connect. In second grade, I emailed Chris d’Lacey, whose Last Dragon Chronicles books I loved. He replied, and I was blown away. I also wrote to Yao Ming and received a signed basketball card. Those little experiences showed me that reaching out could lead to something.

By high school, I was noticing the opportunities other kids got through their parents’ connections. My parents helped me get in the door in some places too, just not the areas I was excited about. I thought it was unfair that wanting something and working hard weren’t enough. Eventually I realized that I could build my own network. I would have to meet more people and knock on more doors.

Chess gave me a way to practice. I got to know players much better than me, learned from spending time with them, and made some amazing friends. Sometimes what I could offer was simply showing up and cheering for someone who deserved more support. That pattern carried into business and other parts of my life.

Why “Best Networker in the World”?

It’s self-appointed. A for-fun page, a bit of a publicity stunt, and an ambition I’m taking seriously. There is no official award behind the title, and I’m not claiming an independently verified global ranking.

I think the most connected people in the world are probably the most successful people in the world. Their work brings the network to them. I’m approaching it from the other direction: reaching out, being curious, making introductions, and staying in touch.

I’m not the magnetic person who instantly becomes everybody’s best friend and leaves with every phone number. I had to learn this deliberately, and I think that makes the lessons worth sharing. My network is growing, and I hope to be the most well-connected person in the world one day.

My idea of a great networker is someone people are glad to know. Someone who remembers, follows through, and helps when they can. I’d love for this page to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, one good connection at a time.

The experience behind it.

I co-founded Commaful and have spent years building companies, communities, and relationships. Across Commaful and CharacterHub, we raised over $2 million, and I credit that fundraising to networking. I’ve hosted dozens of events. At CharacterHub, our team brought fan-art contest partnerships involving Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers, and SpongeBob to life. Some amazing prizes came with them, including a Shadow poster signed by Keanu Reeves.

There have also been wonderfully unexpected experiences, like finding myself at a professional basketball player’s birthday party. I’m keeping that person’s name private. Relationships have taken me to places I never could have put in a plan.

As of September 2026, I can confidently put my lifetime cold-email count at 10,000+, my personal CRM at 2,500+ people, and my introductions at 500+. Those are conservative, self-reported figures. They measure different things; none is a count of close friends.

The CRM grew over the last four to five years. Its records are deduplicated and update with recent conversations. For the people I’m really close to, I don’t need a field to tell me that. I just know. My cold-email and introduction counts cover my lifetime.

There were weeks when I took 12 meetings a day for five straight days. That was a peak period, not my average schedule. Sometimes I wanted to jolt my brain, find fundraising connections, or open a new door. Sometimes I had spare time and wanted to spend it with people.

How I think about relationships.

I focus on providing value and following my curiosity. Usually that means sharing an idea, making an introduction, or learning from what someone is working on. Keeping relationships warm is a daily habit that I enjoy.

Most people treat relationships too transactionally. I think some of the best ones develop through text, not email, when both people actually want to keep talking. A shared interest or a chance to help gives you somewhere natural to start.

I’ve put the practical details in guides to writing a networking cold email, making useful introductions, and keeping in touch with a personal CRM. If you’re shy too, start with talking to strangers.

And my slightly unconventional advice is to talk to strangers. One call I expected to be boring turned out to be with one of the wisest people I have met. He shared life frameworks that changed how I thought about work and more. You can be thoughtful about your time and still leave room to be surprised.

I love the conversations I leave feeling full of life and excited to take on the world. Curious people, trying things, thinking about things. I’ve found that with chefs, business owners, athletes, and people whose work is completely different from mine.

I’ve definitely focused too much on someone’s status before. What helps me is paying attention to what they’re excited about and having fun learning. The more interested I am in the actual person, the more natural the relationship feels.

Sometimes I host the gathering.

I use Nick Gray’s The 2-Hour Cocktail Party format, including name tags and icebreakers. Hosting helps with being shy: people come up and talk to you. You have a reason to help people meet, and you get to spend time with a lot of interesting people.

I’ve also hosted casual GDC gatherings in Yerba Buena Gardens two years in a row, with more than 60 attendees each. Everybody was already there for the conference, which made it easier to bring people together. Here’s the practical hosting guide.

How the field guide is put together.

The guides draw on my firsthand experience, answers to questions about my approach, and the networking and CRM notes I’ve kept over the years. Older plans are described as plans. Recommendations are distinguished from claims about what I have personally done.

Example emails are original illustrations, not copies of private messages. Testimonials are shared with permission. Other people’s stories stay anonymous unless they’ve agreed to be named. Brand names refer to past partnership work and do not imply endorsement of this site.

My notes also include things I’ve learned from books, articles, and conversations. When a guide uses a specific outside idea, it should name and link the source. I’m still learning, and I’m happy to correct an error or add useful context.