There is no single app that replaces LinkedIn, but each thing people use LinkedIn for now has a better tool. If you want warm intros, there are intro-path finders. If you want to meet people, there are event platforms. If you want a page that represents you, there are link-in-bio cards. And if you want a network of people you actually know, there are closed, trust-based networks such as 1handshake. Here is a short map, by job to be done.
Why people look for alternatives
LinkedIn is still where most professional profiles live. The common complaints are the same everywhere: connection requests and messages from strangers, a feed built for reach rather than for friends, and a graph where many “connections” have never met. For people in tech, who often move between cities and companies, the most valuable thing — an intro from someone who knows you — is the hardest thing to get there.
1. Tools that find warm intro paths
A growing category of tools looks for the shortest path from you to a person you want to meet, using data you already have.
- Happenstance connects to your email, calendar, contacts and social accounts and answers questions like “who can introduce me to someone at this company?”, ranking paths through people you know. It also offers an MCP server and ChatGPT and Claude integrations. (Happenstance guide)
- Village, The Swarm, Bridge and similar tools focus on teams — pooling a company's networks, mapping overlaps with employers, schools and investors, or running double opt-in intros. (same guide)
- Nepotism Network, launched on Product Hunt in September 2026, finds intro chains through your social graph on X and drafts messages for you. (aitoolly)
Good for: sales, fundraising, recruiting. Keep in mind: they infer relationships from messages, follows and work history, so a “path” can go through people who barely know each other.
2. Events and meetups
The fastest way to build a network is still to meet people. Event platforms such as Luma make it easy to find and host meetups, and many tech communities live there. Good for: meeting new people in your city. Keep in mind: after the event, the connections you made usually scatter across messengers.
3. A page that represents you
Many people in tech replace the LinkedIn profile with a personal site or a link-in-bio page: one link with who you are and where to find you. A newer twist is making that page readable by AI assistants, for example with an llms.txt file. Good for: being findable on your own terms. Keep in mind: a page alone doesn't create relationships.
4. Networks built on trust
The last category tries to fix the graph itself: closed networks where joining requires a real relationship.
1handshake is our take. You can join only by meeting a member in person — a joint selfie becomes a one-time QR invite — so every connection is a meeting that happened. You see the people your connections know and ask to meet them through the friends you share, who can back the request with 🔥. Every member gets a public card at 1handshake.com/@handle with an llms.txt version. It is free and open source under AGPL-3.0. How it works →
Good for: warm intros between people in tech who actually know each other. Keep in mind: you need to meet a member to get in, and the network is young.
How to choose
| If you want… | Look at |
|---|---|
| a path to a specific person, using your existing data | intro-path tools (Happenstance and others) |
| to meet new people in your city | events and meetups (Luma and local communities) |
| one link that represents you, also for AI | a personal site or link-in-bio card |
| a network where every connection means something | trust-based networks such as 1handshake |
Most people will combine two or three of these. The question to ask about any of them is simple: if you needed an intro tomorrow, would the people in this network answer?