Over a period of 40 years as an entrepreneur, while building six professional service firms and three nonprofits, I used to network like a madman. As you might imagine, with my hands in several things at once, it was sometimes difficult to answer the question: “So, Gill, what do you do?”

Over time, I developed the following response: “I meet people, stir the entrepreneurial pot, and make good things happen everywhere I can. Once in a while, I even get paid.”

My two-part goal was to (1) sidestep the question, because the response would have taken 30 elevator rides; and (2) inject some humor into the conversation, so a more personal relationship could begin. The result was that I got really good at meeting people, getting to know them on a friendly level, and learning enough about them to be able to spot the occasional “perfect connection.”

These days, instead of being “the best connector in St. Louis,” I’m “the Zoom guy” on INNOVATE celebrations around the country. And instead of shaking a thousand hands a year, I’m screen-to-screen with a thousand innovators, enablers, thought leaders, and connectors, learning about them, their ideas, their passions, and their love of their communities.

In all the INNOVATE conversations I’ve had with this nation’s business leaders, I’ve never encountered a generosity of spirit as strong as the one that blankets the Nashville innovation scene. Don’t get me wrong, there are generous people everywhere, but the Nashville community itself has somehow imbibed this spirit: “Resistance is futile. You too will become generous.”

In reality, it’s probably more of a “birds of a feather flocking together” thing than a Borg mantra. Regardless, I am humbled and honored to have been so immediately welcomed and completely adopted by this community, despite being a literal outsider.

Take it from a master connector: The Nashville innovation community is one of the best places to hang out if you have a generous spirit and have a passion for innovation.