Talk. Connect. Grow.

Talk. Connect. Grow. Networking wisdom for professionals who know that success starts with a great conversation. Member Spotlight: Xavier Ryan Written by Brad ColacinoFounder & Creative Director  |  Bright Cycle Design Co.December 2, 2025 Say hello to Xavier Ryan, Sales Executive at MVP Healthcare. Xavier’s role is all about helping members get the coverage they need, and […]

Say hi to Aleisia Kisel, an Accounting Manager at BST in Latham, NY. If you think accounting is just tax season stress and endless spreadsheets, Aleisia’s here to take a lot of that weight off your shoulders. At BST, she’s part of the outsourced accounting team, which means she works side by side with businesses of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes she jumps in for a specific project, other times she acts as their ongoing finance partner. Her role is all about helping companies stay organized and on track so they can focus on growing without having to sweat the day-to-day numbers.

Our first Spotlight shines on James Rubino, a longtime member and local entrepreneur balancing both vacation rentals and property management. He opens up about what drew him to the business, how he creates standout experiences for guests, and the lessons he’s picked up along the way.

You show up at a networking event, ready to expand your professional circle. But as you start chatting, it feels like everyone has the same agenda: sell, sell, sell. Business cards are flying, elevator pitches are rehearsed to perfection, and you can tell when someone’s just waiting for their turn to talk. But what if networking didn’t have to be that way? What if, instead of seeing every conversation as a transaction, you asked yourself one simple question: “How can I help this person?”

I still remember the first networking event I attended after moving to Saratoga. It was late summer, 2021. I had my stack of business cards and a rehearsed elevator pitch. I shook hands, exchanged cards, and moved on—boom, another name in my contact list. By the end of the night, I’d “met” 20 people. But how many did I actually remember? Or, better yet, how many of them actually remembered me? And on top of all of that, would they want to do business with me?? Here’s the spoiler — none of them did. But now I know why…

Are résumés dead? Of course not. Not by a long shot. But even with the right experience, skills, and a shiny polished CV, you’re faced with the same reality—résumés don’t open doors. People do. Set the time machine back to March of 2014, and I had just been laid off from a company where I had spent the previous 9 years. Like a bucket of cold water. I was suddenly in job-hunting mode, scrolling through listings and sending out applications because it was now, very literally, my new full-time job. But the opportunity that actually led to my next step? It didn’t come from a job board—it came from a player on my YMCA hockey team.