I’m David Good; I build real-world connection for the people who usually get left out of it.

For a long time, I was one of those people. After a car accident and chronic illness ended my career in software development, life got very small; physically, socially, and emotionally. What I wanted more than anything was simple; a safe, welcoming place where shy, socially anxious, and neurodivergent people could meet others without feeling judged, rushed, or “wrong.”

So I built the thing I wished had existed.

In 2014, I founded the International Friend Connection (IFC). It started as one small Meetup group; it grew because the need was everywhere. Today, IFC is a mission-driven, volunteer-powered community with 38 chapters in 20 countries, 40,000+ members, and 100+ organizers. Together, we have hosted 4,500+ free events designed around something most people underestimate; psychological safety. When people feel safe, they show up; when they show up, connection becomes possible; when connection becomes possible, lives start to reopen.

The outcomes can be hard to measure in a spreadsheet, but they are easy to recognize; friendships that last, people re-entering community life, volunteers finding purpose again, and isolated individuals becoming connected citizens. With modest member support and a lot of ingenuity, we have generated what I believe is a high social return; because when you reduce isolation, you reduce downstream suffering.

This work brought national attention. Meetup CEO David Siegel invited me to speak at Meetup’s 20th Anniversary Celebration in Manhattan; I represented the global organizer community. I have been formally recognized with Presidential Service Medal(s), including recognition from President Biden; I was named a Point of Light Honoree. I have also been featured on ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS for my efforts to address the loneliness epidemic; I had the honor of giving a lecture for Yale’s Cultural Autism Studies.

In 2023, I was appointed Meetup’s founding Brand Ambassador; in 2024, I became Chief of Global Affairs for The Octopus Movement, a Netherlands-based think tank focused on nonlinear intelligence and systems change. The thread through all of it is the same; I look for the hidden levers, the small practical changes that make human connection more likely, more repeatable, and more humane.

Today, I also lead The Friend Magnet on YouTube; a free education platform for shy and neurodivergent people. I teach values-based social intelligence and simple frameworks that help people build real confidence without pretending to be someone they are not.

If you are looking for a speaker or collaborator, here is what I bring; not just inspiration, but a tested model for building belonging at scale, without coercion and without shame. My long-term goal is simple and a little audacious; help one million people connect in real life over the next ten years, and prove that belonging and psychological safety can be engineered on purpose.