The world has changed so much over the past 21 months. We’ve had to make innumerable adaptations in our personal and professional lives – including adapting to an increasingly virtual world. In some ways, it’s become more difficult to meet and network with colleagues and peers. At the same time, it’s also opened up new communicating and networking opportunities. Zoom is a near-constant presence in our work. Then there are other popular virtual platforms, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack. Here at Lioness, we decided to take this opportunity to shine a light on some lesser-known, but equally useful, virtual event and networking platforms. We asked entrepreneurs which platforms they prefer to use.
Here’s what they had to say:
Filo
What it is: Virtual event, meeting and workshop platform
Pricing: Contact the company to get monthly and annual fees
Testimonial
Jess Shipwash, Co-Founder of Shipwash Properties, a real estate investment firm in Knoxville, TN:
“We use Filo in our company due to the quality and dependability of the platform. Filo is compatible with Zoom, making it super easy and simple to use. In addition, Filo gives you the feeling of actually being in person which has helped the morale of my team and our potential clients. We like that we can make our virtual meetings feel more personal this way.”
SpatialChat
What it is: Virtual event and meeting platform
Pricing: Free plan ($0/month), Starter Plan ($49.99/month), Day Pass ($300/day) and Pro Plan ($12,000/year)
Testimonial
Erin LaCkore, Founder of LaCkore Couture, a handcrafted jewelry brand based in Weston, FL:
“SpatialChat lets you host more interactive meetings, small events, team building days and cocktail parties. It offers video chat, screen sharing and flexible chat options.”
Hopin
What it is: Virtual event, networking and educational platform
Testimonial
Erin LaCkore:
“Hopin’s all-in-one platform reproduces the in-person event experience most closely through its flexible, scalable and interactive features.”
Lunchclub
What it is: Virtual meeting and networking platform
Pricing: Free, but invite-only
Testimonial
Jessica Lipton, Founder of Elevate Delta 8, a Delta-8-THC gummies brand based in Anaheim, CA:
“Launched in 2008, Lunchclub is a great networking platform for professionals that don’t really have the time to connect but also want to meet new like-minded individuals instantly. When joining the application, you’ll be asked about your interests and time slots during the week when you’ll be available. It connects you to someone for a one-on-one video chat. The best part about this app is that the AI’s advanced machine learning recommends the people that are likely the best fit by showing you profiles and asking which ones are relevant. This is perhaps the quickest and most effective way to network for busy professionals.”
Blitzr
What it is: Virtual event and networking platform
Testimonial
Beth Bridges, (also known as the “Networking Motivator”), a business speaker, networking trainer and author of “Networking on Purpose: A Five-Part Success Plan to Build a Profitable and Powerful Business Network”:
“The best networking event platforms are those that allow you to make more connections in a short time, provide focused events to curate who you talk to, allow for private one-to-one conversations and provide a way to track who you’ve talked to and to contact them again easily.
The platform I have found that provides all of this and more is Blitzr. Each event starts with a presentation lobby where the creator gets to address all the attendees. Then it goes into a speed-networking format by automatically connecting people in one-to-one, private, timed breakout rooms (no setup and no frantic sorting by the event host!). It’s customizable for the number of conversations or the length of sessions and provides a way for people to communicate afterward as well.”
Which virtual networking and event platforms do you like best? Share your response below.
Read Questions To Ask At Networking Events for more tips and advice.
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