“It’s like speed dating for professionals. Instead of looking for a date, you are looking for a person that will help expand your business, professional goals, increase revenue, etc.,” said Olivia Ji, President and Co-founder. “It’s the only platform that will allow you to meet relevant people without having to scramble around to find the person that fits your network; they come to you!”

“There is no other tool that functions like this on the market,” said Eric Schmidt, CEO and Co-founder. “The pandemic has taken a toll on business around the world, and businesses are having to learn, very quickly, how to adapt. We expedited the roll-out of this new product, knowing that one of the biggest challenges these businesses were facing is more than just how to connect and interact, but how to network with other business professionals and build their businesses when face-to-face interaction is limited.”

The current pandemic has left many organisations rethinking their current business development strategies. Businesses and associations that rely heavily on networking events for sales associates, members, and other professionals are scrambling to find innovative ways to connect. Glue Up’s Speed Networking allows its members to grow their connections quickly and efficiently by giving professionals a fully immersive virtual networking experience that recreates the meaningful aspects of face-to-face networking without any of its limitations.

Speed networking employs a fast-paced event setting where all parties are actively looking to build professional relationships. Traditional networking often relies on one party reaching out to another and introducing themselves, hoping to elicit a positive and reciprocal response. In a speed networking event, you can meet more people in a shorter amount of time, building your network more efficiently than traditional networking.

Glue Up’s Speed Networking tool is the perfect way to introduce members of your organisation to large cohorts of people giving them the opportunity to find potential new business contacts, clients, members, leads, or jobs. The Speed Networking feature also gives businesses the ability to monetise events once again by allowing time to thank and highlight sponsors and/or patrons. Companies who are accustomed to revenue flows from hosting events can monetise their Speed Networking events.

During a speed networking event, a round-robin format is often used, and a host indicates the start and stop time of each 'round'. Within each round, a participant will meet another participant, one-on-one, and introduce themselves. Around the halfway point of each round, the second participant will then be able to introduce themselves. This process repeats for the remainder of the event or until you have met every participant.

The solution includes sharing virtual business cards, taking meeting notes on each participant you meet, and scheduling a meeting after the event. Plus, with a virtual speed networking event, there is no longer the need to rent out a large event space or provide catering to participants. Costs are reduced for both the host of the event and participants.

“Glue Up’s new tool is truly the future of networking and building business relationships,” concluded Schmidt. “Our world is fast and changing daily; we have to move just as quickly to adapt to the new business climate. The old tactics are simply not going to work anymore."