I first spoke to a recruiter who then advanced me to speak with the hiring manager. The hiring manager and I had a very good conversation (although he did ask about all my contacts and to be introduced to them) and he told me during the interview that I'd be advancing to the next stage and that he wanted me to speak to their boss. After ending the call with the hiring manager, I was ghosted. I reached out to the recruiter multiple times as well as the hiring manager and nobody ever got back to me. It felt a bit like they might not have been trying to hire anyone but just to get my contacts as well as my strategy ideas.