We think you should try speed-dating. No, not in search of your significant other,but rather speed-dating in the startup scene. Here, it’s not boy meets girl (well, could be), but startup founder meets future hire. In other words, it’s Startup Mixer Sofia.
The get-to-know-your-future-employer-in-three-minutes event will take place on 8 August in the office of Bulgarian accelerator fund Eleven. It’s co-organised by Croatian startup zzzzapp and Serbian CaseTrek, both of which are part of Eleven’s programme and are currently Sofia-based. Both of them also happen to be looking for new team members. “In our case, we would ideally be able to hire one front-end, one back-end and phonegap developer,” Aleksandar Gvozden, co-founder and CTO of CaseTrek, told inventures.eu.
Gvozden was inspired to organise this entrepreneur’s matchmaking after attending a Startup Mixer in HUB Zagreb. “It is a great way to make many new contacts fast,” he said.
Any startup is welcome to take part. Gvozden made clear, however, that he expectsmost of the participating potential hires to be, at least currently, Bulgaria-based. In order to apply, click here.
How to startup speed-date
The organisers are looking to bring together 20 startups with 20 students or professionals in order to match the right talent with the right job. Participants will then be split into four groups of five startups and five individual participants with common needs and interests, who will each get three minutes to present themselves.
“The goal is not to get somebody hired already the following day, but to establish a first contact,” Gvozden said, pointing out that people will have enough time to follow up after the speed-dating session (starting with some networking over a beer, perhaps). “Based on the applications so far, we can see at least 3-4 matches happening,” he added.
In the five days that the information about Startup Mixer has been out, the organisers have received applications from 10 startups and 10 individual participants. Half the slots are still open, so if you’re looking to find your team’s +1, go out there. Speed-date!
Additional reporting by Stefanie Rauchegger.
