Certain dating service concepts seem to be so successful that they are used in company match making as well. A good example is the ‘SpeedDating’ initiative of the Hungarian Association of IT Companies IVSZ – the largest professional association of the Hungarian ICT sector.
IVSZ organises match making events for small and large member companies. The concept is that during such an event, 3-4 large IT or telecom company manager provides an opportunity for 7-8 SME-s each to introduce themselves and to try to sell the idea why they could be a valuable partner to the large company.
The meetings have a set format and time schedule; each SME manager gets about 8 to 10 minutes to present their company and their ideas to the decision makers of the large companies. This limited time is naturally not sufficient to build a serious business relationship, but is more enough to establish contact and to decide whether the small and the large company should seriously consider a business relationship.
In addition to the one-on-one meetings during the SpeedDating event, this is an excellent networking opportunity for SME-s. SME managers meet here and discuss their plans, their expectations, or simply get to know each other and get information about each others? companies. Just like in a business environment.
The event is so successful that typically a week before the event the schedule of meetings is already full, and SME companies queue in a waiting list to get a chance to meet the large companies. Currently SpeedDating is offered in Hungarian only.
