This year, event education experts e180 will bring knowledge-sharing to SOCAP19 with Braindate, the unique peer learning platform and in-person conversation experience.
A SOCAP guest post by e180
“I’m never sure that I’ll meet the right people at these events.” She surveys the room and shrugs, checking her watch. Her next (and last) session is in seven minutes, and this is the final networking break.
“I’m trying to build up my knowledge around social finance in the ‘traditional’ corporate world, so that I can pitch my firm on shifting to a socially responsible investment model.” She smiled. “But I can’t seem to find the right person to help me.”
This is the story of so many of us who’ve gone to events only to struggle to meet the right people, and learn what we need to propel us forward. It’s not easy to walk into a room full of hundreds, even thousands of new faces, and intuit exactly who we should approach.
Traditional networking doesn’t quite cut it, either. After days spent “bumping into” strangers in line for pastries, wine, and workshops in hopes of making a valuable connection, we often leave events with a stack of business cards but no real prospects to help us move the needle on our latest projects.
This year, SOCAP19 will partner with peer learning experts e180, whose product Braindate is designed to help millions of event-goers worldwide do just that.
What is Braindate?
An alternative to traditional networking for events, Braindate is an online platform and in-person learning experience designed to help participants meet each other for topic-driven, knowledge-sharing discussions called braindates. It is a tool to empower participants to have better, targeted conversations with new people, and make connections that last.
Leading up to an event, users post tweet-length braindate topics to a Topic Market related to the knowledge that they can offer or that they are seeking. They can browse other participants’ topics, and send invitations to meet for one-on-one (30 minutes) or small group discussions (45 minutes). Braindates take place in-person at SOCAP19 in a dedicated Braindate Lounge in Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason. In the Braindate Lounge a team of onsite hosts called learning concierges will facilitate braindates, help participants brainstorm topics, troubleshoot, and more.
How to use Braindate at SOCAP19
Particularly in the world of impact investment and social entrepreneurship, it’s easy to unintentionally remain in siloed discussions, without connecting directly with stakeholders, practitioners, or peers.
SOCAP19 is a unique opportunity to widen perspectives and join a group of diverse community members who represent the full spectrum of stakeholders in impact. Participants can leverage Braindate to take advantage of the diversity of experiences in the room, through posting (and booking) braindate topics to share knowledge and discuss things like:
- Best practices and success stories;
- Challenges, and even big failures;
- Sharing resources
- Collaboratively brainstorming new models or fresh approaches
All SOCAP19 participants have access to the Braindate platform, and are encouraged to start booking braindates now!
Registered attendees can access Braindate and post topics at socap.braindate.com.
For more guidance, read this article for some quick tips to leverage Braindate at SOCAP19.
If you have questions about Braindate, please email them to socap@braindate.com.
About e180
e180 is a certified B Corporation and social business founded in 2011, inspired by the core belief that all humans have precious knowledge and experiences to share that might change someone’s life. Their mission is to unlock human greatness by helping people learn from one another.
They launched Braindate in 2013 to bring experiential peer learning to events, companies, and communities, and have since transformed over 200,000+ users and hundreds of world-class events into vibrant experiential learning hubs with partners like the Skoll World Forum, Workday, Tableau, C2 Montreal, Airbnb, TED, Cannes Lions and Salesforce.
e180 ranks in the global top 10% of certified B Corporations, as a social business with a public commitment to practicing business as a force for good.
