The expansion to Slovakia was a great success. Bratislava was quite unknown to us from the point of view of organizing Meet&Deal, and we had to do many things differently than before. It was a big challenge, because we had to live up to our reputation and also convince Bratislava of what ‘the most nutritious networking’ means for us. Did we succeed? Take a look.

A somewhat different organization
That we had to become VAT payers in Slovakia, I won’t even talk about. But in fact, the overall preparations and everything initially took place remotely. The space, which we did not see live until the day before the event, but only in photos, was also a big unknown for us.

But the deal with a person like Yaksha, to whom Space by HAAS belongs, confirmed to us that the choice was right. We convinced ourselves of this with our own eyes when we arrived in Bratislava after 3:00 PM on Wednesday. We checked out the space, said ‘that’s it’, unloaded things from our DEAL CAR van, which we have from Aspekta, and headed to the hotel. There was still a lot of work and tuning waiting for us until late at night.

We also managed to have a pre-event beer with several participants. Thanks to the Meet&Deal LOUNGE WhatsApp group, where anyone who has been to Meet&Deal can join, we were able to arrange, meet, get acquainted and chat. After breakfast in the morning, we headed to Space by HAAS to have everything ready by 3:00 PM.

We brought something new to Slovakia
This applies doubly. As we have verified, the most nutritious networking has no equivalent in the Czech Republic, and we confirmed the same in Slovakia. We expected that, of course, but there is one more thing.

Slovaks are used to – at least according to those I talked to – events in conference halls and other classic spaces. And so we brought Meet&Deal to the Bratislava gallery Space by Haas. Which was an unknown space for most people so far. The gallery is full of works of art that can be illuminated in any color. So we took advantage of that and set everything to Meet&Deal colors. Awesome, right?

Just an hour before the start of the event, Yaksha stopped by, who then stayed for part of the event. We used him and the team to immediately record another episode of Reels Talk byAndré. So you have something to look forward to. Our partner HOFO production is responsible for the sound and visuals of the Reels Talk and the subsequent panel discussion.

We started the event right away with a panel discussion
Arriving a day earlier has something to it. For the first time, we were suspiciously well on schedule. So at 3:00 PM we were ready and the first guests started coming. And 15 minutes later, the panel discussion on the topic of influencer marketing began.

Sona Machyňáková, who was a little closer to the majority of the audience thanks to the Slovak language, took over the moderation of my little self – I intend to continue in this mode. After a brief welcome, she immediately introduced the panelists, who were Adam Štrba, Eliška-Jana Auer and Jana Malaga. There were many interesting ideas and tips for those who are considering using influencer marketing. Of course, we recorded everything, so we’ll pull out a few interesting thoughts for you.

Then just the most nutritious networking
After the panel discussion, we fully engaged in networking. We have a new record here. At 3:00 PM the gates of Space by HAAS opened and at 3:05 PM Branislav Barbirík reported to me that he had managed to close a deal. I’d say that’s a record.

When I talk about it, Meet&Deal vol4 actually showed us something new in this respect as well. While in Prague, more and more deals are being closed and relationships are deepening with each subsequent event, here it was something a little different. Probably not as many deals will come out of vol4 as from the previous Prague Meet&Deal events. But it makes sense, because first ‘meet’ and then only ‘deal’.

I’m still waiting for the official statistics, but bartender Kuba Krejčí from Alkohol.cz reported that about 450 drinks were consumed. It’s worth noting that over 100 of them were in a non-alcoholic version. In addition to drinks, there was also a stream of excellent coffee, which we could enjoy thanks to the deal with Shoptet Premium, wine or prosecco, and our participants were not hungry either.

1to1 in rock-paper-scissors
A spontaneous idea that arose before the Summer Edition has caught on and has been a part of every event since then. At first, the starting list didn’t fill up that much, but then we managed to fill the entire tournament and reach the commented final through an elimination system. It seems impossible, but the winner for the third time in a row was Kazimír Krysta. Does anyone have the strength and luck to beat him? We’ll find out at vol5 in the Prague Manifest.

This tournament has proven to be a great networking spice. During the elimination battles, you will probably run into people you don’t know. And in addition to the battle, you can exchange a few words. I should find out if any deals were made thanks to the tournament…

Old acquaintances
I’m very glad that people like Jakub Kantor, Dominik Válka, David Zelenka, Ondřej Hrabalík, Ruslan Skopal and many others came to vol4 in Bratislava. At the same time, I’m glad I got to know a lot of new people, like Peter Strcula or Branislav Martanovič. I hope to see you at the next events as well.

Jirka Wasserbauer from FotimeOba again captured the amazing atmosphere. Check out his full photo report and share the photos wherever you can. Don’t forget to tag Meet&Deal and Jirka as well.

I also want to thank our other partners, without whom the most nutritious networking would not be what it is, namely Mailkit, Radiohouse and CzechCrunch. And last but not least, a big thank you to my organizing team, because Meet&Deal has long been about more than just me.

Don’t forget that on April 10th we’re bringing Meet&Deal back to Prague. We’ll meet in Manifest at the Street Food Edition. Buy tickets on the mitdyl.cz website. But before that, you can look forward to a vlog from Meet&Deal vol4, which will be released on my YouTube this Friday, February 28th, and also mark the date of March 5th. We’re planning one novelty that you can’t miss.