How Can We Help?

Search for answers or browse our knowledge base.

Print

The new way of networking: from digital coffee dates to gamified meets on Icebreaker

Published on Evening Standard

Those Thursday night networking drinks might be on pause but making new connections doesn’t have to be. More than 60 per cent of members at women’s-only club AllBright say they’re considering a career pivot post-pandemic and LinkedIn says it’s seen a 55 per cent year-on-year increase in conversations among connections during lockdown.

The upside of London’s new virtual landscape? There are more ways to build your network than ever before.

From the AI superconnector that’s matching tech founders for 1:1 video meetings to haute cuisine at Zoom fashion dinners, this is how London is schmoozing now.

Zchmoozing

You might think you’ve nailed the Zoom game, but have you Zoomed a room full of strangers yet? Speed networking is the new speed dating, according to members of Lunchclub, a new San Francisco-founded “superconnector” that’s matching tech founders for virtual coffee and lunch meetings.

The site uses machine learning to match you with other users then after an emailed introduction, you’re paired for a video call. “Think of it as a work date,” converts explain.

Lunchclub’s members are mostly start-up founders but Zoom schmoozing is a cross-industry affair. “It was way easier than in-person networking because we didn’t have the awkward thing of trying to break into a group of new people to start speaking,” says one Clapham-based solicitor who joined a Zoom networking event for junior family lawyers last week, while founders of PR agency Hudia, Hester and Kelly Grainger, say they’ve already won two new clients through a networking group on Zoom.

In many ways, lockdown’s new pivot to digital has made networking easier than ever, says Sapphire Bates, founder of millennial networking incubator The Coven Girl Gang, who’s been hosting Zoom coffee mornings for female business owners. She’s always carried out 95 per cent of her networking online to ensure it’s “open to everybody”, whether they’re a working mother who can’t leave the house or someone who travels a lot for work, and hopes Covid’s enforced flexi-working drive will encourage more members.

Communications specialist Shola Kaye agrees. Since lockdown, she’s made new connections from Liverpool to India and the lack of travel has given her a new boost of energy. “I feel more refreshed and able to connect with people,” she explains. “I love the comfort of being in my own space coupled with the buzz of getting to know a new person.”

Tech tribes

New networking platforms are emerging. Virgin, Adobe and Croydon events agency Legacy are among companies using Hopin, a virtual venue which lets attendees move in and out of rooms just like an in-person event, while Sarah Nockel, founder of women-in-tech newsletter Femstreet and an early-stage investor at venture capital fund Northzone, hosts a monthly meet-and-greet over gamified networking platform Icebreaker. Not only is it playful, but the only person you can see is the the one you’re talking to — no more being distracted by the underside of your own chin.

For many, exclusivity is key. Tech VCs have spent lockdown humblebragging about their membership to Clubhouse, an invitation-only audio network facilitating spontaneous voice chatrooms (rumour has it MC Hammer is a member), while AllBright has launched its own networking platform, AllBright Digital, for members looking for a career change in light of the crisis. Business breakfasts, power lunches and post-work drinks have been replaced with Zoom roundtables, video networking sessions and digital pitch days with HSBC.

Cross-country connections

The upside of virtual networking? Borders are no longer a barrier, says Nockel, whose newsletter members are based everywhere from Australia to Japan. Global members-only community Top Tier Impact has been hosting its Virtual Impact Dinners in location-based “pods” to account for the time difference — two in Europe, three in the US, three in London, all held on the same day on the same theme — while Nockel has worked out that 5pm or 6pm UK-time works best for her global webinars and Q&As.

For members in San Francisco it’s 9am, New Yorkers can attend in their lunchbreak, and Londoners can enjoy the events at the end of the working day — just the sweet spot for post-work drinks.

Fighting facetime

Variety is key and all those video calls can be draining. Nockel runs a subscription Slack channel for paid-up members of her newsletter, and insists it’s the perfect networking tool. Female founders can chat from anywhere in the world, you don’t have to set a specific time to network, and it doesn’t matter what you look like — helpful for introverts.

“You can just say ‘Hey, I’m setting up my own company, what are the best tools for SEO?’,” she explains. “You shouldn’t have to go to an event with wine at 6pm in London to figure that out.”

Many agree that typed forms of networking can be just as effective as face-to-face, if not more. London creative networks @GettingOutLdn and PR Made Easy both use Facebook to connect small business owners — members can post anytime and many admit they’re more confident reaching out over message — while project manager Isabel Sachs says she plans to use Slack or WhatsApp as a mentoring platform when she launches her women and non-binary initiative I Like Networking later this month.

Food for thought

Circling the room with canapes is long-gone. The new way to network over wine and nibbles? Having them sent to your home in advance. Notting Hill PA network Miss Jones PA hosted a virtual wine tasting with Prosecco Doc for clients in May while communications consultancy Powerscourt posted pre-prepared cocktails to attendees of its in-conversation event last month — guests say the shared drinking experience set a fun tone.

The same applies to dining together. Corporate caterer City Pantry says its new Pantry Packages have been popular among companies wanting to send “working lunches” to clients’ home ahead of meetings, and lockdown hasn’t put a stop to fashion dinners, either. Attendees of Zalando’s digital Q&A with Daisy Lowe last month were treated to a virtual dinner party courtesy of the online fashion brand. Each guest was sent a box of fresh pasta, pizza dough and toppings from cult Italian restaurant Passo, plus a bottle of wine and a negroni.

“I cooked my meal and joined the call at 7pm,” says one fashion editor who attended. “It was actually surprisingly fun!”

Part-e season

Summer parties might be off the cards for now but CEOs are finding new ways to get mingle. Business coach Dana The Trainer says she’s been hosting themed cocktail nights with clients — dress codes have ranged from ‘wear something red’ to ‘come in your PJs’ — while tech community GBx has been hosting virtual pub quizzes and fireside chats for British entrepreneurs based in Silicon Valley.

One member, former MIC star Amber Atherton, has come up with a particularly refreshing networking method for her company Zyper’s clients in lockdown: a virtual pool party with digital radio station poolside.fm. “Pour yourself another long island and dive into lockdown’s hottest virtual soiree,” reads the invitation.

Social distancing doesn’t have to stop you making a splash.

See the full article on Evening Standard


Hi, I’m Shola and I help you create a people-first culture. My work sits at the intersection of Inclusion, Communication & Emotional Intelligence.

My keynote talks and workshops help your leaders and employees create high-performing work environments where people feel a sense of belonging and psychological safety. Sessions are high energy, interactive, and every participant walks away with at least one practical framework for connecting and collaborating more effectively.

Sound good to you? Please reach out and let’s discuss your next event! 🙂🎤✨

Go to Top