StartupCafe

Last week, I managed to rival Jessica’s addiction to networking events (see entrepreneurship event addicts anonymous if you don’t know what I’m talking about). So I thought I’d write a roundup for each one, starting with OpenCoffee London.

OpenCoffee London – the original home of Open Coffee which is now worldwide. The venue was the Roberts Building at UCL (get off at Euston Tube station, walk down Gower St and turn left). I arrived around 10.30am, and there was a small crowd of about 10 people. I grabbed a coffee – at a reasonable £1.90 for a large latte, and started chatting. I met a Japanese Venture Capitalist, Alex from Clearly So – an entrepreneur specialising in social investment, Geneviene from StreamingWell – a company specialising in medical education videos, and Dave Harvey – a coach/techie (his wife will be performing at the Edinburgh Festival!)

A couple of noticable differences between London and Edinburgh. First off, people introduced themselves with their business card (that’s not really the norm up here). Second, you have a 10 minute chat where you tell each other about you, your business and then move on. No one really hangs around too long and it’s just usual to move on. Third, there was a good mix of people there – from developers to investors (the latter group being rarer nowadays, as I’m reliably informed).

Although I was a little apprehensive about going to an event in a different city where I knew no one, it was well worth it. The atmosphere was really nice, and everyone knew what they were doing there. If you’re down in London and free on a Thursday morning (it’s on every Thursday), then head along!

Stay tuned for Part 2: Enlightened Ideas Launch