Gina loves a room. When she runs a V8 Nexus evening, the part she watches for is the moment two people who should have met years ago finally do, and you can see it on their faces. Before every evening she reads who is coming and works out who should meet whom. On the night, she makes those introductions herself.
I love that too. But I have spent fifteen years in sales and consulting, and the engineer in me kept asking a different question. An evening holds forty people for two and a half hours. The person you need might not be in the room that night. Is there a way to connect people faster, and to make more of those connections land?
So I built one. This post explains how it works, what we ask you and why, and the questions people ask us most.
What it is, in one paragraph
You tell us who you would like to meet. We look for them in our network, and when we find someone who fits, we ask them first, describing you only by what you do, your industry and your city. If they say yes and you say yes, we share names and you write to them. Your first introduction is on us.
It runs on Axia, the AI system V8 built. Axia remembers every ask and spots likely fits between people who have never met. A person checks every match and sends every message.
What we ask before we introduce you
There are three questions, and each one is there for a reason.
- What do you do, and who do you do it for? We read your website and your public profile first, then show you our understanding so you can correct it. An introduction is only as good as our picture of you.
- Who would you like to meet? A type of client, people who work with the same clients as you, or a supplier. “Anyone” gives us nothing to look for, so we will suggest a sharper version and you decide.
- How should we introduce you? One line, in your words. When we find the right person, this is what they hear.
There is a whole post on answering these well, because the same three answers will also brief your marketing team better than most briefs do: How to Ask for an Introduction.
How an introduction runs
- We find a fit. Axia flags a possible match; a person checks it.
- We ask them first. They hear what you do, your industry and your city. Nothing that identifies you.
- We tell them who pays. Before they agree, they know you pay us if the introduction goes ahead, and that it costs them nothing either way.
- Both sides say yes. Only then are names and contact details shared, and you write to them first.
- We check in. A few days later, we ask how it went.
If they say no, that is the end of it. Nobody chases them, and nothing about you was shared.
Who actually makes the introduction?
Right now, the V8 Nexus team does. We are not a sales agency selling your services on your behalf. Think of us as a friend who knows you well. When we come across someone who needs what you do, we think of you, and we introduce you the way you taught us to. When they nod, we make the introduction.
The AI is there so we never lose the context: who wanted to meet whom, how each person wants to be introduced, what was said. Our friends are business owners. We know how hard business is, and we believe connecting the right people helps everyone’s business do better.
What does it cost, and why charge at all?
- Asking is free, and so is every conversation before a match.
- Your first introduction is on us. We mean it when we say we want to help.
- After that, £10 for each introduction you accept, about the price of a good coffee. You pay nothing for introductions you turn down.
- The person you are introduced to never pays and never has to join anything.
The £10 is not a commission. It pays for three pieces of work, charged together only when you accept:
| Step | What happens | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Set up your ask | We research your business, sharpen who you want to meet, and draft the line that introduces you | £3.50 |
| Find the person | We search the network, check the fit, and a person reviews the match | £3.50 |
| Ask them first | We talk to them, tell them who pays, and ask if they would like the introduction | £3.00 |
| Introduction accepted | £10.00 |
We do not charge for advertising, and we take no commission on any deal you do, ever. The fee keeps the work going: the AI that holds the context of every conversation, the servers it runs on, and the people who check every match.
To accept your first introduction, you join Axia, at no cost. That is where your asks live and where new matches show up.
What about my data?
We hold your details, so we are responsible for them under UK GDPR, and that responsibility sits with us, not with you.
Until both sides say yes, everything is described in general terms: what you do, your industry, your city. Nobody hears your name, and nobody is approached as though you were cold-calling them. When both sides agree, each side receives the other’s name and a way to reach them. Nothing else. You can ask us to stop at any time, and we stop on every channel.
I am a professional. Will this look like advertising?
This is the question that shaped the design most.
We do not advertise you. Until both of you say yes, nothing about you is promoted to anyone. Before any introduction, we talk to the other person ourselves, one person at a time, and we describe you in the words you gave us. We are not your representative and we do not pitch on your behalf.
There is one thing you should check yourself. If you are in a regulated profession, your regulator may have rules on paying for introductions, however the payment is broken down. The Solicitors Regulation Authority, for example, puts the onus on the firm to show what a payment is for, requires clients to be told about any such arrangement, and bans paying for introductions in personal injury work. Our process helps with the disclosure side, because the other person is told who pays before they agree to anything. But your regulator’s rules are yours to apply, so check them before you accept a paid introduction.
What if I get too many introductions?
You pay only for the introductions you accept, and you can turn any of them down. If it is too many, tell us to pause, and we stop offering new ones until you say so.
Introductions are only one part of what Axia does. It also drafts your follow-ups, sorts your inbox, keeps track of every relationship in your pipeline and flags who needs a reply, with booking meetings coming next. The aim is a simple one: your part of sales becomes the meeting, the handshake and the signature. More on Axia.
Why the room still matters
AI can remember every ask and spot a fit between two strangers. It cannot vouch for anyone, and it can be wrong about a fit. That is why a person checks every match, and why Gina’s evenings carry on. Trust is still built face to face. The introductions just mean the right people stop depending on luck to be in the same room.
If there is someone you would like to meet, tell us. Your first introduction is on us.