I said I was organizing an event that no one had experienced before. But that’s not true. Well, not anymore. The event is behind us. It flew by within a few hours, and I’m still processing it all. I managed to gather nearly 150 people, including investors, influencers, specialists, and e-commerce professionals, in one place. That’s good for a first-time event, isn’t it?
To give you a numbers-based perspective, in June, I launched the website meetdeal.cz, which has been visited by over 2,000 people as of October 6, 2023. The feedback form page has over 200 views. In connection with the event, I sent 14 emails, with an average open rate of over 65%.
On the Meet&Deal Instagram account, we have over 17,000 impressions, more than 1,000 profile views, and almost 100 followers – mostly organic reach, except for around 300 CZK spent on advertising.
The event itself was attended by nearly 150 people at Opero, including influencers, investors, specialists, and e-commerce professionals. We consumed more than 400 drinks from Alkohol.cz, almost 70 bottles from Vinařství Svoboda, 1 keg of beer from Ecomail, and the catering from Bufáček was almost completely gone. Denisa Gajdíková from Mylerie.cz shared her impressions: “It was nice, a nice environment and good food. Great people. Excellent drinks. I’d add a coffee machine and coffee with milk…” You could get your caffeine fix at our Red Bull box, but thank you for the tip on coffee for next time!
I’m really glad that so many people decided to support me, either by buying tickets or by accepting my invitation and showing up. There were also a few people who accepted my invitation but didn’t show up (unfortunately without an apology). Where were you? 👀
From 4 p.m. onward, when the gates of Opero opened, the first participants started arriving. The networking started around 4 p.m. and continued throughout the event. Our connectors were kept busy, and I personally introduced a few people. I’m sure a few deals were made. “A successful networking event where real networking took place on a large scale,” said Alice Nosáková from Simplia. “At the event, I had the opportunity to meet great people – the goal of networking was achieved perfectly,” added Robert Tichý from Tanganica.
At 6 p.m., the panel discussion started, moderated by myself. As guests, Adam Pýcha (Knihy Dobrovský), Eva Čejková (Testuj.to), and Radek Hudák (Out of Dark) joined us to discuss building a community. A lot of interesting information was shared, and it was a great discussion. The only minor issue was the impatience of some guests who wanted to continue networking and slightly disrupted the discussion. Well, I organized an event about networking, and the people were networking. Maybe next time, I’ll schedule the panel discussion or another program at the beginning of the event?
After the panel discussion, we continued networking, accompanied by music from DJ Czekid. Not everyone was fond of the music, or rather its volume. But the networking continued well into the evening. Getting people out of Opero at 11 p.m. and moving them to an afterparty wasn’t easy, but that’s just part of the deal!
In my opinion, a lot of things didn’t go well, and there’s definitely room for improvement. But the event concept proved itself. So when will someone else copy it? 😛 Don’t forget, this was a first-of-its-kind event.
Once again, thank you to everyone who came, helped with the organization, and the partners who created a truly unique atmosphere. If you have any feedback, let me know. Also, follow our Instagram and check out the photos.
If you enjoyed it so much that you want to be part of Meet&Deal vol2, fill out the form below.
