On the flipside, the mechanisms that make the tech world small are also the mechanisms that will exclude you and those around you if you happen to attract someone’s ire. In the limit case, this seems like a return to feudalism rather than an inclusive opportunity for everyone.
I was at startup school in 2007. What struck me was how motivational and inspiring it felt. The tone in the tech world has shifted dramatically since then, at least online.
This anecdote about how some particular connections were formed and later led to real opportunities seems like a good example of how things often happen in the Bay Area tech world.
Perhaps someday there’ll be a general theory of how opportunities are created, but in the meantime if you want to learn how things happen, there are only anecdotes to learn from.