Networking is just friendship in pretentious clothing

The most successful people you know don't "work a room" — they just listen and are curious when meeting new people. Sometimes, there's a click, and friendship is born out that. In professional or social settings; "networking" is just a word to give imaginary weight to human connection.

I am starting the Brilliant Friends Club exists because many professional communities have forgotten relationships are just friendships; not business transactions. I've witnessed over the last few years, especially in the technology industry, a wave of professional loneliness: we are always available, constantly connecting, but lonely.  COVID ripped us out of the workplace losing moments to be human without scheduling a call, screens allowed us to remain socially distant, accountability to each other started to slip, and the continued layoffs for the last several years has been unrelenting which means we don’t see each other as peers but competitors.  In order to pull through the hard times, professional and personal lives need to intersect, not diverge. In March 2026, Anthropic released a report that said based on current trends highly-educated, professional, older, and well-compensated women are more likely to have their labour disrupted by advances in Artificial Intelligence. If that turns out to be the case; your friendships are the bonds that will help us through the economic hardships.

Our MissionTo provide a third place for ambitious down-to-earth women to get together and discuss, create, and learn from each in relation to their life’s work. The work that fills them with purpose, whether they are compensated for it or not. 

What ties us together isn't an industry, title, or income. It's values.  We show up. We give first. We say the hard thing.

If you're open to meeting women who may or may not change your career or become your best friend — but who are worthy of your time — you're in the right place.