Speed-networking brought EntreCon attendees together


  • November 6, 2015
  • /   Brandy Hilboldt
  • /   entrecon

People participate in the speed networking event during EntreCon in Pensacola, Florida Thursday November 5, 2015. (Michael Spooneybarger/ CREO)

EntreCon participants ended a day of panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions with a powerful promotional tool: networking.

But they did it with a modern twist through speed-networking in the Cowork Annex in the newly renovated historic Blount Building, now known as One Palafox Place.

“When people sign up for events like EntreCon, of course they want to learn something from experts, but they also want to meet people and learn from someone who is in a similar situation,” said Dr. Richard R. Hawkins, a professor in the marketing and economics department at University of West Florida. He organized the speed-networking session.

EntreCon is a two-day business conference sponsored by the Studer Community Institute and the University of West Florida Center for Entrepreneurship. The event features speakers and events aimed at helping entrepreneurs plan, start and grow their businesses.

The  event took the basics of networking and mixed it with the trappings of speed-dating, with participants gathered around small tables.

At five-minute intervals, attendees had to mix and mingle with a new set of faces.

{{business_name}}From left, Dave Mungai and David DeSchoolmeester participate in the speed networking event during EntreCon in Pensacola, Florida Thursday November 5, 2015. (Michael Spooneybarger/ CREO)

From left, Dave Mungai and David DeSchoolmeester participate in the speed networking event during EntreCon in Pensacola, Florida Thursday November 5, 2015. (Michael Spooneybarger/ CREO)

They talked about perseverance, marketing strategies, hiring staff and paying the bills. They groaned in sympathy with each other, laughed, gestured and passed along tips. When the timer read O:OO, they switched chairs and began again.

“We are calling this the non-conference part of the conference,” Hawkins said.

Even those who did not formally participate lingered to listen to the short discussions.

“Try to innovate. See problems as challenges,” said Marija Milosaljevic, a graduate student from Austria who is studying international business management for a semester at UWF. “That’s what I keep hearing, and it’s inspiring.”

Milosaljevic helped Meghan O’Donnell, another UWF business student, watched the timer and prompted participants to rotate.

“There are no failures, only feedback,” said Patricia Taylor, who founded Taylored NLP about a year ago. According to her website, Taylor provides “personal change coaching using neuro-linguistic programming … to help people achieve their goals and be free from negative emotions and limiting beliefs.”

Several people in Taylor’s group, who are also running startups in Northwest Florida, nodded in agreement, when she said, “when we talk to each other, we all become smarter.”

EntreCon kicked off Thursday, Nov. 5. It continues Friday, Nov. 6 with sessions at the Rex Theatre, 18 N. Palafox St., and at the Wright Place, 6 E. Wright St.

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