How do I find people who are where I am?

I kept waiting for the room I was in to produce someone who understood, and it was never going to, because the room was the problem.

The people who understood were in other cities and adjacent industries. I found them at the smaller gatherings rather than the large ones, and by being specific about what I was working on rather than what I did.

Specificity attracts the right people. A job title attracts nobody.