The Founder Relationship Scorecard: Rate Your Network In Six Dimensions

Founders measure revenue, traffic and pipeline. Almost none of them measure the quality of their network, even though it shapes all three. This scorecard fixes that. Rate yourself across six dimensions, total the score, and you will know exactly where your network is strong and where it is quietly costing you.

The six dimensions

Range. Does your network span the different kinds of people a founder needs, or is it concentrated in one group? A network of only clients, or only peers at your stage, scores low here.

Depth. How strong are your relationships? Ten people who would take your call at a bad moment is depth. Five hundred contacts who would not is the opposite.

Proximity. How close are you to founders ahead of you, the people whose problems are the problems you want next? Distance from them is the most common weakness.

Reciprocity. Do you give before you ask? Networks built on contribution are strong. Networks built on extraction collapse the first time you need them.

Trust. Would the people in your network vouch for you when you are not in the room? Trust is what turns a contact into a referral.

Consistency. Do you show up over time, or appear only when you need something? Relationships that are fed stay strong. Relationships that are only used go quiet.

How to score yourself

Add the six numbers. The maximum is 60, and where you land is a clear read on your position.

A score of 0 to 20 means your network is thin or one-dimensional, and opportunities are passing you by without you seeing them. A score of 21 to 40 means you have built some real relationships but have gaps, usually in range or proximity, that limit what reaches you. A score of 41 to 60 means you have a network that produces introductions and opportunities on its own.

Most founders score lower than they expect the first time through. That gap, between the score you assumed and the score you have, is the most useful thing on this page.

Where most founders fail

Two dimensions drag down more scores than the rest. Proximity and range.

Proximity fails because founders build relationships sideways, with people exactly at their stage, and never deliberately with people ahead of them. The network is comfortable and teaches them little. Range fails because founders build entirely within one category, usually clients or peers, and leave the connectors and the people ahead of them missing entirely.

Improvement roadmap

Improve the lowest number first. A network is limited by its weakest dimension, so raising a 3 to a 6 does more than raising an 8 to a 9.