The 10-80-10 Rule: How Atlanta Communities Can Unlock Their Greatest Growth Lever
Every community believes it needs more super connectors.
It doesn’t.
Across Atlanta’s startup ecosystem—from Atlanta Tech Village to Tech Square— a small group of people consistently make introductions, open doors, and create opportunities.
There is an equally small group that rarely contributes.
The real story sits in the middle. Using Adam Grant’s “Givers, Takers and Matchers” framework, most communities follow a 10-80-10 distribution. The top 10 percent are active connectors. The bottom 10 percent are disengaged. The middle 80 percent is willing, but inconsistent.
Most communities seem to focus on the extremes. The opportunity is activating the middle.
The Barrier Isn’t Willingness, It’s Hesitation
The middle 80 percent are not unwilling to help. They hesitate.
Time is fragmented. Work and personal life blur. Digital platforms reward speed and visibility over depth and relationship building. People are conditioned to think in terms of direct return on time and effort.
Introductions carry perceived risk:
What if it’s not a good fit?
What if it reflects poorly on me?
What if it wastes someone’s time?
So instead of people going ahead and making introductions, they wait.
And in that hesitation, opportunity is lost.
Atlanta’s Innovation Ecosystem Is Ready to Overcome This Hesitation
Atlanta has long operated as a relationship-driven market. A “big small town” where trust travels quickly and introductions carry weight.
That creates something rare: trust density.
The importance of trust to facilitate cooperation is described in both Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research by Roderick M. Kramer and Tom R. Tyler and The Speed of Trust: The One Things that Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey.
“Introductions transfer trust,” says Mikey DiCenso, MBA, Innovation Ecosystem Relationship Manager at Tech Square ATL, who has made nearly 1,000 introductions over the past two years to support the growth of Atlanta’s innovation community. DiCenso adds, “You are using social capital to make an introduction, you are stating ‘I vouch for this connection being worth your attention’ and your trust transforms what would be a cold outreach into instant context creating serendipity with a direction.”
In high-trust-density environments, introductions convert faster, collaboration happens more naturally, and opportunities compound over time. But trust alone isn’t enough anymore. There needs to be structure.
Activating the 80 Percent
Communities that activate the middle do five things consistently:
Segment members by behavior
Make introductions a core expectation
Increase visibility into what members need and offer
Add light structure for follow-through
Measure outcomes, not activity
This isn’t about adding programming. It’s about reducing hesitation at scale. When people know who to connect, what a strong introduction looks like, and perceived risks are reduced, participation increases. In networks where referrals already drive the majority of meaningful opportunities, even small gains in participation compound quickly.
“Introductions are part of the infrastructure of an ecosystem,” said DiCenso, “it’s not just a social gesture, introductions bring collision, and collisions bring collaboration and innovation.”
The Real Barrier: Psychology, Not Process
Even with the right frameworks, systems, processes, and blueprints, the real barrier remains in human psychology. The middle 80 percent of community members need:
Permission
Clarity
Reduced risk
Visible examples
Like a smile, behavior is contagious. When leaders consistently make thoughtful introductions, others follow. When introductions are acknowledged and valued, participation increases. When outcomes are visible, momentum builds.
“In my experience, introductions work best when you have spotted an intersection of aligned incentives and mutual benefit. Each side of the introduction should benefit from meeting the other person,” said DiCenso.
A Call to Action for Atlanta
Atlanta doesn’t need to reinvent community; it needs to activate it. The next phase of growth for the city’s startup ecosystem won’t come from more events, programming, or even capital.
It will come from more people helping each other.
Simple things like:
Helping a founder meet a customer.
Helping a startup find talent.
Helping two people who should know each other connect.
“If you’re looking to make an introduction, first ask yourself where there is potential mutual benefit between two people and what the connection is. Then, be sure to have a message that is concise, specific, and personalized to those being introduced,” said DiCenso.
One good introduction can create more value than a small investment. Because in a relationship-driven ecosystem, that value compounds.
Author Bio
Adrian Sasine is the co-founder and CEO of Nolodex, a platform focused on enabling meaningful business connections and community-driven engagement. He has more than two decades of experience in marketing, growth strategy, and operations, including leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies and his own ventures, and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in marketing from the University of Georgia and Georgia State University.