I used to work as a recruiter to Cambridge’s tech scene. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with it, but those in the industry call it the Silicon Fen in honour of its proliferation of tech startups and the innovative, creative culture which rivals the Silicon Valley. It’s a great place to work, but something about this culture made it quite difficult from a recruitment perspective – the fantastic business community there meant that everyone knew everyone.
Check out the Connected Cambridge Linkedin Group and you’ll see that it’s a hive of activity and genuinely good discussion. People collaborate on a range of subjects and there’s always someone promoting a networking event or talk from a guest speaker. Rather than worrying about the implications of collaborating with and networking with potential rivals, they embrace the opportunities to learn and the doors that could be opened up.
The result is that the area has some incredibly innovative and successful companies, such as Autonomy, recently purchased by HP. It’s not to say that other areas have no networking – Manchester is known for its digital scene for example and Manchester events within digital and media are common, with the community using social media as well to stay connected on a day to day basis.
A quick search around Manchester business events shows plenty of meetups and opportunities outside of digital as well – Manchester Chamber of Commerce events for example, and this is the case in other cities as well. However I believe that Cambridge still leads the way in terms of networking and a working business community, thanks in no small part to Connected Cambridge.
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