The introduction is not the deal

We are often asked what happens after we make an introduction. The honest answer is: very little, from us. The two parties talk, assess each other and decide. We remain available if context helps. But the deal belongs to them.

That is deliberate, and it is worth explaining why — because it shapes everything else about how we work.

What an introduction is

An introduction is a judgement that two parties should meet. It rests on knowing both: what one needs, what the other looks for, and whether the fit is real. Done properly, it saves both sides weeks and arrives with enough context that the first meeting is a useful one.

It is, in other words, a small thing done carefully. Its value lies almost entirely in the judgement behind it.

How we decide two parties should meet

Before we suggest an introduction, we ask the same questions every time:

• Need — is the requirement specific, with a number, a purpose and a timeline?
• Fit — does the other party actually do this kind of thing, at this size, in this sector?
• Readiness — can both sides have a useful conversation now, rather than in six months?
• Chemistry — from what we know of both, will they work well together?

If any answer is no, we say so — to both sides — rather than make an introduction we do not believe in.

Consent comes first

Before we introduce anyone, both sides agree. We describe an opportunity without naming the business behind it; if there is interest, we say who it is, and the introduction happens only when both have said yes. Nobody's details are circulated, and nobody is surprised by a call they did not expect.

This double consent is slower than sending a deck to everyone on a list. It is also the reason people take our calls.

What an introduction is not

It is not advice. We do not tell either party whether to invest, at what price, or on what terms. It is not arranging finance, and we never hold or move funds. Where a transaction needs regulated advice — investment, financial or legal — that is the work of appropriately authorised professionals, and we will say so.

Drawing the line clearly protects everyone. The parties know whose judgement they are relying on, and we can be straightforward about fit, with no interest in the outcome beyond the introduction itself.

Fees, in the open

Our fee is agreed in writing before any work begins, and it is never a surprise. If another party will pay us in connection with an introduction, the people involved know about it during the enquiry, not after. Transparency about how an introducer is paid is the simplest test of whether its judgement can be trusted.

Why this makes introductions better

An introducer who also negotiates, structures or advises has a reason to push a deal through. One who stops at the introduction has a reason to get the introduction right. We would rather make two that land than ten that fill a report.

After the introduction

Once two parties are talking, we step back. We stay close enough to answer a question about context, or to smooth a misunderstanding, but the conversation is theirs. Most of the time, the best thing an introducer can do after an introduction is very little — and to be ready when the next one is needed.