When Socializing Friday’s founding member, later known as Socializing Evangelist, organized the first networking event back in 2009 he did it for the start-up companies in the new Technopolis premises in Salmisaari, Helsinki. He probably didn’t expect the event itself to become one day a promising start-up too!
Well, that is what happened! Socializing Friday is a start-up company and although we are not in the Red Herring’s lists yet I bet you don’t have to wait for too long.
By some standards we can be called as a weirdo among the start-up community because:
- We do not calculate profits in dollars, in euros, in marks, in takas, in shekels, in rupeehs or in any other currency
- We’d rather receive a business card than a blank cheque in a meeting (ok, who uses cheques anymore anyway?)
- We think that giving things for free is more profitable than selling them
- We constantly remind everybody to take it easy & relax
- Our core values are built on the concept of not working in a traditional, sweaty sense
We at SocFri Ltd. believe that there are more valuable type of profits than the occasional rupeeh that we can save up in a jar. Actually we think that more valuable than our money is the money You make. But frankly; even more precious for us are the connections we build between people, organizations and galaxies (this a bit later). And those we can share and give away for no cost at all.
We call them “face-offs”. In a happy, positive type of way. We think face-offs beat easy money 6-0. Easy. It is not that we despise money and spit at it when ever we see a bank note. It is just that we value the things that we can use the money for more than the money itself. How much dough is piled on the bank account is a secondary issue when two people meet and measure each other whether they can engage in a mutual project, cooperation or partnership. I am not sure if this comes out right if I say that best things in life are free. Well, its true!
In our logo there is a business guy gone partying with a tie loosened around his neck. The logo should represent the philosophy of the company and we think ours does that very well. Thanks to our Socializing Designer; SocFri logo brings the message of devoting Friday afternoons to socializing and to building bridges between people (and galaxies) in a relaxed atmosphere with good food and drinks.
All of this above might seem like a good cover story to avoid the real, sweaty type of labor which is held in high esteem in our societies. And you know what? It is exactly that; a good excuse to avoid spending your week’s last working hours inefficiently at the office (or in your coal mine) waiting for the weekend to start. We give you a very good reason to get out of your cubicle (or shaft) and blur the strict borders of what we call working or not working.
Socializing Friday as an organization wants to give credit to whom it belongs; to people who boldly meet strangers, shake hands, exchange business cards, make a move or engage into discussions around topics they know nothing of. These are the people who bring the real profit to companies and organizations by not working, but by networking. These people are the core of all that starts up!
- Socializing Hoodie
