Business Speed Dating by Startup Weekend Tairāwhiti

Speed networking is an event format, designed to accelerate business contacts and create opportunities to ignite partnerships across sectors of the community for a mutual and collective benefit.

True to Startup Weekend Tairāwhiti style, the team ran Gisborne’s first Business Speed Dating event at The Works Restaurant and Bar. Participants greeted each other in a series of brief exchanges of two-minutes per person. During an interaction, participants share their professional backgrounds, business goals and personal stories of community impact. 

Photo: Business Speed Dating kōrero in action.

The evening kicked off with 5 pm pre-drinks upstairs at Launch Co-working. By 5.30pm space began to fill with an excellent spread by The Works, bubbles on arrival to calm those nerves and then to help the conversation flow, a bar tab on Digital Accounting all night long! With MC Buzzy on the mic and a sweet sound system provided by Rob Coe-Tipene, energy ran high. Cain stepped up to set the scene and then joined in, not one to miss a networking opportunity. Renay and Renee on time-keeping and general organising ensured everything ran smoothly, the well-planned agenda kept us on track and perfectly paced. Check out a quick video of the experience shared on the #SWTairāwhiti Facebook Page.

"Such an awesome night thank you!! Gisborne needs more events like this! #sweetjesus" Jess aka Sweet Jesus, Business Speed Dating Participant.

The vibe was great and the feedback on the night positive. Tips for next time included considering acoustics and layout, tightly seated participants did have to concentrate intensely to hear their partners. The koha jar returned $ to the Startup Weekend Tairāwhiti Events kete which funded the event. Low tech name tags using a marker on masking tape were a hit. The $50 voucher draw, for a tab at The Works, encouraged everyone to share their business cards.

Follow up steps include adding everyone’s details the Kiko community contacts list, how can we utilise technology to build up our Kiko community online? Wondering whether a feedback form might also be helpful for future events, to encourage reflection and to ensure Kiko’s action activists continue to deliver high-quality events with impact. Check out more pics from the evening here.

Want to get involved? Hit us up at team@kikoinnovation.com with the subject line #keen2kiko and join the #kikocommunity.