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Joshua Brueckner

Helping professionals find their next great connection | Founder of Overlap

Joshua Brueckner is a former founder and entrepreneur who currently leads accelerator programs in Los Angeles.6 He is the founder of Overlap, a professional networking platform that facilitates warm, double opt-in email introductions to help people connect with the right individuals.1

Brueckner has a background in B2B sales and business development, having helped startups like b8ta and Arrive grow from seed to Series C funding.1 He runs the Techstars Los Angeles and Techstars Space programs.1 Additionally, he contributes to TechCrunch as a writer and operates Trulytell, a pitch deck agency assisting pre-seed founders with fundraising and storytelling.1

Overlap, founded by Brueckner, was incorporated as THE OVERLAP LIMITED on November 4, 2020, in the UK.2 The platform officially opened to the public on July 23, 2024.5 Brueckner's vision for Overlap is to help people meet more people, which he believes directly unlocks growth and opportunity.3

Brueckner is described as a natural leader with a strong work ethic, attention to detail, and deep empathy.4 His professional interests include design tools, productivity, sales, freelancing, analytics, customer communication, branding, growth hacking, venture capital, artificial intelligence, Product Hunt, and e-commerce.1

Highlights

Nov 7 · twitter

I think I’m going to delete my twitter?

Jul 30 · linkedin

Last week, Overlap had its big debut, and wow, what a ride! We launched on Product Hunt, went viral on Hacker News, and even got a shoutout from The Hustle. Here’s the wild story of how it all went down.

At 12:01 am, Overlap went live on Product Hunt. I stayed up all night, glued to my screen, watching our rank hover around 15th place (of ~40). Not amazing, but not terrible. Determined, I worked through my launch checklist: posting on Reddit, emailing the press, sharing on social media, etc.

Feeling a bit deflated, I decided to post on Hacker News with the headline:

𝐼 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡 𝑎 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 (𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒)

I thought this headline was clever because HN prime audience are folks in computer science and entrepreneurship.

And then, it happened. An hour later, sign-ups surged. Overlap was taking off! 🎉

As I watched the numbers climb, I got emotional. For the past three months, I’ve been waking up at 5 am to build, test, and refine Overlap. Driving to my full-time job, I’d sit in silence, thinking about this project. Then I'd race home to work on it again.

Seeing Overlap succeed was the validation I needed. It wasn’t just about the sign-ups; it was about proving that all those hours of work were worth it.

Then, disaster struck. The flood of sign-ups caused a system crash. Profiles got jumbled, and panic set in. It was 3:30 am, and I had 30 minutes before Overlap was featured in The Hustle’s newsletter. I rolled up my sleeves and dove into crisis mode.

By 4:05 am, just in time for The Hustle’s 2.5 million subscribers, the bug was fixed. Phew!

Sign-ups kept pouring in, and Overlap’s system became stronger and more secure. Two major tech influencers joined. A potential paid partner reached out. Most importantly, there’s a real appetite for warm intros at scale.

I accomplished all of my goals:

• Complete this product iteration • Validate interest in Overlap • Collect feedback to refine the product and positioning • Boost user numbers for better connections • Attract prospective partners

I widened the user base:

28% Tech Professionals 20% Startup Founders 15% Corporate Employees 14% Mentors/Advisors 12% Creative Professionals 6% Investors 5% Researchers

Product Hunt might not have been our biggest win, but it set the stage. It forced me to refine our messaging, create compelling assets, and stick to a launch date. Hacker News brought thoughtful feedback and tons of sign-ups.

Last week was a whirlwind of highs and lows, but I learned so much.

Huge thanks to Juliet Bennett Rylah for The Hustle mention and Sarah Wright for the Product Hunt newsletter inclusion.

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✦ 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗽: 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 ➔ www.moreoverlap.com Grow your network the smart way with Overlap: warm intros at scale. We make trusted, opt-in-only email introductions that connect you with the right people effortlessly. 100% free forever.

Related Questions

What inspired Joshua Brueckner to start Overlap?
How does Overlap differ from other professional networking platforms?
What are some success stories from companies that have used Overlap?
How does Joshua Brueckner's background in B2B sales influence his approach at Overlap?
What are the key features of Overlap's double opt-in email introductions?
Joshua Brueckner
Joshua Brueckner, photo 1
Joshua Brueckner, photo 2
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Location

Los Angeles, California, United States