I think you're making my point though, all of those connections required "knowing a guy", and the odds that for all the problems you might need expertise for, y

I think you're making my point though, all of those connections required "knowing a guy", and the odds that for all the problems you might need expertise for, you won't know enough guys. And it sounds like they did the work 'under market' which implies they don't do very much of it. For your experience to be generally available for all people and all skills, I think you need a market.