Ever come home from a networking event having met thirty people and wondered if a single one of them will ever matter? What if the secret isn't working the whole room, but having two or three real conversations and letting trust do the rest?
In this heartfelt episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Fernanda Brasileiro — a 20-year supply chain leadership veteran turned founder of two businesses: a people-development consultancy helping companies fix team dynamics, trust, and culture, and Filled Cups, a Charlotte social-connections brand built to fight the loneliness epidemic. Fernanda is candid about being on a learning journey with networking, and she shares how she went from "business card shark" to building genuine, lasting connections.
Top Takeaways
Trade quantity for quality — Fernanda used to try to meet everyone in the room and left exhausted. Now she goes deep with two or three people and the connections actually last.
Trust is the foundation of everything — Borrowing from Patrick Lencioni's pyramid: without trust at the base, teams (and relationships) have nothing to build on. Connection is how you get there.
Choose events that match your needs — At this stage, Fernanda prioritizes groups that offer real learning and professional development, not just mixers. Know what you actually need before you go.
Open with humor — Her go-to icebreaker is a light joke about the situation a drink, the room, an awkward moment to make the first exchange feel human, not transactional.
Build a simple follow-up system — A Google Sheet "informal CRM" captures every card, with a formula flagging anyone she hasn't spoken to in three months so they land in her outreach queue.
Lead with active listening — Be genuinely interested, ask curious follow-up questions, and make the other person feel heard. (Melissa's "X Games" expand, explain, give an example are an easy way to remember it.)
Be a connector, not a taker — Fernanda follows up to offer help and introductions, not to extract something. Generosity is what makes networking feel good and work long-term.
Failure is tuition — An earlier e-commerce side hustle didn't survive, but it taught her marketing, time management, and how many hats running a business really takes lessons she carries into both ventures today.
About Fernanda Brasileiro
Fernanda Brasileiro is the founder of a people-development consultancy that helps medium and large companies improve team dynamics, engagement, culture, and trust through workshops, training programs, onboarding, coaching, and fractional learning-and-development support. Drawing on 20 years of corporate supply chain leadership, she now works as a thought partner and advisor rather than a full-time employee. She's also the founder of Filled Cups, a Charlotte-based social-connections brand that hosts monthly social and singles events to combat the loneliness epidemic having helped 200+ people form genuine friendships since launching in November 2024 and hosts the Connectedness podcast on relationships, friendship, and personal growth.
Resources & Links
🌐 Network Build Grow Community: networkbuildgrow.com
🧑💼 People Development Consultancy — Leadership development, team training, onboarding & fractional L&D FernandaBrasileiro.com
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