David Homan on Why Vulnerability Is Not a Weakness and Curiosity Is Not a Tactic

David Homan, founder and CEO of Orchestrated Connecting, was a classical composer with 225 works performed at Carnegie Hall when he found himself, at 26, running a multi-million dollar global arts nonprofit through a connection made at a Shabbat dinner. Then Bernie Madoff wiped out the endowment, a billionaire called to scream at him for losing money he never touched, and David had to rebuild an entire organization by throwing out everything he knew about fundraising and starting to simply ask people what they needed.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Growing up in Gainesville with a theater professor father who never connected the dots between his famous students and his son’s career in New YorkMeeting Vera Stern at a Shabbat dinner in 2003 and running AICF’s Carnegie Hall gala three weeks laterWhat Jewish geography is and why it stopped working the moment the endowment disappearedThe chain of introductions that ran from a Catholic friend in Ohio through Canada and Germany to a New York Times article to a $2.5 million gift from the Carnival Cruise Line familyWhy 85% of David’s fundraising work was making connections for people who were never asked for anythingHow Orchestrated Connecting works: 2,500 members across 47 countries, entry by recommendation only, and you have to ask for help to get inSOAR Connect: the relationship intelligence platform that tracks recency, frequency, and duration to surface who you actually trustThe five principles of the USA Today bestseller Orchestrating Connection: curiosity, vulnerability, diversity, generosity, and gratitudeWhat happened at a conference in March when David shared that it was his first public speaking event since losing his fatherThe two years David spent writing letters to his father signed as Tim from the Best Western in Cherry Hill, New Jersey🌟 David’s Key Mentors:Doris (Adopted Jewish Grandmother, Florida): The lifelong family friend who introduced David to Abby, who introduced him to Vera Stern, who changed everythingVera Stern (Widow of Isaac Stern, AICF): Took David under her wing at that first Shabbat dinner and gave him his first real platformBill Schwartz (AICF President): The second father figure who asked David to take over the entire organization at 26Beth (Journalist Friend from Ohio): The Catholic friend with no connection to the arts who heard him out and started the chain that saved the foundationHis Father, Sid Homan (Professor, Showman): Princeton and Harvard trained, 29 books, brilliant and gullible in equal measure — and the reason David gets on a stage the way he does👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it costs to rebuild something from nothing when everyone is blaming you for losing it, why asking for help is the most underused strategy in any room of powerful people, and the two years David spent writing letters to his father as Tim from the Best Western in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.🔗 Connect with David Homan:Website: davidhoman.comWebsite: soarconnect.ai📤 Transcript Available: David Homan on Why Vulnerability Is Not a Weakness and Curiosity Is Not a Tactic📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com