How to Make the Most of Networking Events in 2025

I used to drop $1,000 on big conferences, thinking that’s where all the action was happening. Now? Game-changing events > calendar fillers. Turns out, the best convos were always happening at small side events. Recently at TechWeek, I managed to get into a tiny, highly curated event for a Series B+ audience and it was so worth the hustle. This wasn’t a “buy ticket, show up” kind of event. It was more like: find the organizers → reach out directly → dig up mutual intros → prep a killer intro blurb → earn your spot Because even the best pitch means nothing if you’re in the wrong room. Here’s how I decide where to go now, and don’t waste my time (or budget) there: → Research the audience first Check last year’s attendees. Look at the speaker companies. If your ICP isn’t there, don’t go. → Prioritize curated over open-door Events with RSVP forms and shortlists are gold. They take more effort to get into, but the quality of conversation is 10x higher. → Hunt for the small stuff and side events I’ll skip the 2,000-person conference for a 20-person breakfast any day. No booths, no noise — just real people and real context. → Use event curation newsletters I love Supermomos newsletters for finding quality events. Way better than scrolling Eventbrite or Luma for hours. → Don’t stack your day One meaningful event > three mediocre ones. You’ll actually have energy to follow up. Result: I stopped collecting just LinkedIn connections and started landing real leads. And I couldn’t have pulled it off without my assistant — from outreach, to prep, to managing all the behind-the-scenes ops. Great networking starts with choosing the right rooms. And remember: not all events are created equal. Some open doors. Some just fill your calendar. What’s your approach to event strategy?

Has anyone ever told you about the unspoken rules of networking… Or did you find out the hard way, like I did? For those Founders just starting their own business, or scaling it up to meet even greater needs and levels of success - let me save you the pain and bestow a bit of practical advice. Networking can be overwhelming. The barrier to entry on these types of events can often be higher than they should be. This is something that I’d like to see changed about the industry. There are so many great ideas out there waiting to be capitalized upon! 🚀 From one founder to another, here are the main things you should direct your focus on when participating in a networking event: 👨 Physical - Dress well, maintain your appearance. - Smile, maintain eye contact and posture, and lock down a solid handshake. - Don’t let your body tense up, it gives you an unapproachable demeanor.  🧠 Mental - Set an objective for the event. Clients, conversation, knowledge? Go in with a goal. - Stay curious - ask questions. Always seek insight from your peers. - Provide value. Search for ways to provide value to others before asking for something in return. - Embrace what makes you authentic. Confidence in yourself acts as a magnet to those around you. 📚 Knowledge - Stay up to date on industry trends for conversation. - Connect with people from various industries and backgrounds. Building a diverse network will bring fresh perspectives and opportunities. I was in the nightlife industry at one point! - Nail down a concise and compelling elevator pitch. Value prop and confidence.  🤝 Connections - Attend relevant events. Build rapport with frequents, and the rest will fall into place. - A good business card is critical. - Use tech for connection purposes - I have a phone background that has a scannable QR code that redirects to my Linkedin. - Follow up with connections promptly. Send personalized messages to solidify their memory of you.  💬 Conversation - Ask more than you tell, until the appropriate time comes. - When joining a group conversation, observe the dynamics before jumping in. - Use body language to signal your interest in joining the conversation. - Develop conversation starters that go beyond business. - Don’t overdo active listening. Make sure you like & save this list for later reference! #founder #startup #entrepreneur #networking #tips

👻👻 A (professional) introvert's guide to making Networking Events Less Spooky 👻👻 If you fear networking events, copy my playbook. True story: I fear "networking events" on multiple levels. If biz dev wasn't part of my role with Remedy Public Relations, I'd be happy with a more behind-the-scenes role mentoring & strategizing (#careergoals). How do I make it "seem" easy? Preparation & strategy. 1. Show up EARLY. It's easier to strike up a conversation at the beginning than try to inject yourself after. 2. Be distinct. I like to wear one piece of flair that relates to who I am outside the office. My long-distance running shoes (Nike Zoom Fly Five / Hyper Pink), are a conversation starter. ⛳️ Do you play golf? Wear a golf shirt from a brand that only fellow golfers would know. IYKYK 3. Don't rush in. Whenever possible, I'll work remotely near the event. This gives me time to relax & collect myself before walking in. 4. Don't ask what someone does. That's transactional & many fear that question if they're between roles. Ask what they're up to. Let them choose the path. 5. Talk to everyone. I HATE the term referral partners, but I've received some great leads from people far removed from PR & marketing. 6. Plan to chat. Prepare to discuss something you're working on that you're excited about. - No one likes someone who only talks about their job. Be prepared to get personal. What did you do the weekend before that was exciting, or what are you looking forward to this weekend? Sound obvious? Sure… but I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, so if you put me on the spot, I may forget if I didn't prepare. 7. Slide into those DMs. See who registered you want to meet & drop them a note. No list? Check who posted about going to the last event on social media. Drop them a note. 8. What's a challenge you or your industry is facing? Keep that in mind for conversations. 9. Work on your penmanship. If you have to write your own nametag at an event, it helps if people can read it. We also have little Remedy PR stickers to throw at the bottom of the nametags. Side note: Jonah Peake 🐺 has posted before about putting your nametag upside down to spark conversations. 10. Check your network to see who is going, but don't cling to them. I saw a lot of people I know & like at Connect's #IDSD24 a few weeks back, but I didn't sit with anyone too long. Move around. 11. Consistency brings comfort. Commit to a regular series of events so you start seeing some of the same people. It will make conversations less daunting & keep you in mind for later. 12. Stress builds strength. I try to commit to one new event or meeting a month that takes me outside my bubble. Makes the next one easier. 13. Drop a line to them after you meet. Keep the ball moving. Some pics below of people I met for the first time or strengthened relationships by going to networking events within the last six weeks. Kanani, Robyn Goldberg, Jason, Lu, Scott, Susan.

The Future of B2B Events in 2025: Why Webinars aren't Enough Anymore. Webinars are still Good in 2025. But., If you are relying only on webinars to drive your B2B strategy in 2025, you're missing the bigger picture. ❌ The Old Playbook: Host a webinar. -Gather MQLs from form fills. -Send follow-up emails. -Push MQLs to sales. -Pitch your product. It's time to evolve: 👉 What's working in 2025: -Today's B2B buyers want more than a one-way conversation. -They crave value, interaction, and a sense of community. A few Examples and my favorites: ✔️ Workshops Over Webinars: 💡 Buyers want to be involved, not just observe. -Interactive workshops let them learn better. -Whether solving real problems in a live session or gaining hands-on experience, workshops create deep, personal engagement. I conduct workshops, which help me learn a great deal while teaching. -I Structured them as a hands-on, problem-solving session around a common pain point my prospect faces. ✔️ Micro-Communities: 📍 Think beyond large, impersonal webinars. -B2B decision-makers get increasingly drawn to smaller, niche groups where they can connect with peers and gain specialized knowledge ✔️ Live Case Studies with Clients: Inviting clients to co-host live case studies where they share their success stories and strategies. -It helps build trust and showcases real-world solutions. -These sessions highlight the tangible outcomes of your product or service. ✔️ Courses and Micro-Learning Sessions: 📚 Today's B2B buyers appreciate short, focused courses that they can immediately apply to their work. -Building an educational track with bite-sized learning around key topics is a win-win for engagement and brand positioning. ✔️Casual In-person Local Events The most underrated B2B growth lever in 2025. We’re seeing a revival of local, low-pressure, high-value meetups. You can organize: -CXO breakfast roundtables -12-person pizza & strategy evenings -Founder-led coffee sessions with 1-2 enterprise prospects -Co-branded "mini ABM events" with a customer as a host The vibe is Informal. Intentional. Invite-only. These formats are perfect for 1:Few and 1:1 ABM strategies. No decks. No sales pitches. Just proximity, context, and honest conversations. Here's an Example: -Use LinkedIn + HubSpot (or your CRM) to map your Tier 1 and Tier 2 accounts by city or region. -Once you’ve got your local clusters, don’t just wait for conferences—host your micro-events quarterly. -Even a 2-hour breakfast session with 5 decision-makers can create a more robust downstream pipeline than 500 passive webinar attendees. . It’s not about the number of attendees. It’s about curating the right conversations with the right people.

We got 45+ demo calls booked after a massively successful SaaSBoomi conference. Here’s how we did it, and how you can make the most of any conference: 1️⃣ 🎙️ Get a presenter slot: If an opening comes up to do a live demo, jump on it immediately. While securing a slot isn't entirely within your control, there are some things you can do to increase your chances. For eg, we constantly post on LinkedIn to improve the odds that people have heard of us. Neel Balar is very active at founder networking sessions, and happened to meet the #SaaSBoomi organizers at their Bangalore mixer. 2️⃣ 👉 Know your audience: If you get a presenter slot, tailor your demo to resonate with your crowd. For eg, the SaaSBoomi audience mainly comprised Indian founders, so we got their attention by converting a product demo video from an Indian to American accent, showing Clueso (YC W23)'s power for international sales. Prajwal Prakash also dedicated significant effort to build our English-to-Tamil auto-translation, which received huge applause from the crowd in #Chennai when we translated a Hubspot help article and demo video to #Tamil. 3️⃣ ✋ Network, but DO NOT sell: Talk to as many people as you can, but do not push your product on them. Don’t be shy, just go up to and start talking to people. Networking is particularly easy if you get to present; many people will have seen your demo and will initiate conversation with you. Do not sell your product unless they tell you how it could be helpful for them. People will walk away from you if you make it look like you’re trying to get something out of them. 4️⃣ 🍀 Maximise your luck: At the closing ceremony, we got front-row seats for the stand-up tech roast. For better or for worse, they picked on us for 30 mins straight: our company’s name, our age, and our lack of travel experience. The show was hilarious, but more importantly, nobody could leave the conference without having heard of Clueso. 5️⃣ 🧠 Learn: Attend the conference sessions; they offer valuable insights. At SaaSBoomi, I found the sessions on building the optimal landing page by Shruti Kapoor and Ashwin Ramasamy, and Wardley map strategizing by Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, especially enlightening. Not to mention the inspiring talks by legends like Girish Mathrubootham, Krish Subramanian. 6️⃣ 🏡 After going home: Follow up with anyone who expressed interest in your product. Again, don’t push your product on them. Gently remind them that they expressed interest in your product and politely request for a follow-up call.   7️⃣ 👕 BONUS TIP – make sure to wear your company t-shirts! Have your company logo in large at the front, and an inviting tagline at the back. Many people will see your tagline and that becomes a conversation starter.  Put these tips into practice at your next conference, and let me know how it goes! ✨ Special thanks to Hemant Mohapatra, Nivedha Venkatesh for an incredible event and the SaaSBoomi team for giving us this opportunity.