Interview with Robert Neelbauer of Social Matchbox
April 8, 2009 :: Joe Loong
As I mentioned in my Social Matchbox DC event review, I was able to grab a few minutes with founder Robert Neelbauer to talk a little bit about the evolution of Social Matchbox DC (unofficial motto: “Speed Dating for Geeks”) and how it fits in with (and sits apart from) other DC tech networking events. So here it is:
Joe Loong: So, how’s it going?
Rob Neelbauer: Going good so far, everybody seems to be having a good time.
How long have you been doing Matchbox?
It started January 2008.
Can you talk about the evolution between Job Matchbox and Social Matchbox, or is it all the same thing under different brands?
That’s a good question. We started off as a startup job fair. We had a jobs list, and a Job Matchbox that corresponded with that. Companies came, they wanted to talk about what they were hiring for, but then they also wanted to show off what they were doing.
So we gave them a mike; the presentations got better; companies got funded; their presentations got even better; and it’s just evolved. Now it’s a lot more presentations, with some good networking because of the peer community.
How have things changed in the current economic climate — in terms of what you’re seeing from the companies that are presenting.
The bigger companies aren’t here — and by bigger companies, I mean if you’ve got $30 million in your bank from investors, you’ve been laying off people to save that $30 million, because you’ve been hiring so many new people. Now those companies are laying low and trying to survive.
You have a lot more early-stage companies; people, a lot of them have been laid off, and a lot of them have severance packages and more free time on their hands to pursue their ideas. Or maybe now it’s just their time. So you have a lot of those sorts of companies presenting.
In terms of the evolution of the matchbox, where do you see it going? Are you trying to branch out a little bit, or are you going to keep it focused in the DC area?
When we first did it, the farthest away we had a company from was Silver Spring, and we were holding it in Fairfax. We’ve moved to DC, and now we’ve got companies from Baltimore and Annapolis. Maybe we’ll have a company or two that comes in from Philadelphia next. We’ll see. We’re not trying to make this the next TechCrunch 50 or something (laughing)
Well, Arrington probably needs someone to keep him honest… So where does Social Matchbox fit in with other tech networking events, and what are some of the differences that set it apart?
You go to Frank’s event [Tech Cocktail] and it’s a crowded room of people in a bar — you’re elbow to elbow, you can’t hear each other very well…
Sure, so here this is an explicit presentation / whatever opportunity, instead of just rubbing elbows in a bar somewhere…
It’s part that, but I think the bigger thing is that it’s not just a sit and conversation-friendly zone. The “speed dating for geeks” concept that we use and talk about all the time; it’s about that — making peer-to-peer conversations. The people who come to this are all makers. Whether they’re building things, they’re engineers, or they’re designers designing things, or the entrepreneurs building a business plan, they’re the people that are building and making things. So it’s kind of a makers’ meetup — a makers’ user group.
And that’s one of the other things that’s different about this and other events — you don’t have to worry about being hustled by a troupe of salespeople, or a troupe of staffing agency recruiters, people who are there to take you and make you a client.
So you’ve got startups and developers here who are looking for help like that, for marketing help…
Well, for that they can go to any networking event. This is more: You meet other peers, people who are developers, who are entrepreneurs that are building things. These people are going to talk to each other, of course, and when they talk to each other ask, “Who should I call for marketing?” “Who should I call for recruiting?” “Who should I call for sales?” — that’s the natural thing that’s going to come out of that conversation.
But it’s not here that they need the sales rep or the marketing consultant.
Last question: So, are you going to formally adopt “speed dating for geeks?” Everyone uses it…
Maybe (laughing)
Many thanks to Robert Neelbauer and everyone who attended and participated in Social Matchbox DC.
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