Thoughts

So why are event platforms still pretending it justifies a 5–10% cut?

Let’s break this down:

Stripe takes ~2%. Fair.

It handles actual infrastructure. Risk. Fraud. Regulation.

Then your “event platform” shows up and adds another 5–10% for what?

Selling your event to your audience on your brand.

Most of them aren’t even building real tools. They’re selling access.

You do the work. They charge the rent.

And it’s not small money. On a £1M event series, that’s £70K+ in annual rake — just...

The best professional networking in London right now doesn’t look like Q2.
It looks like a whisper.

Terrace venue.
25 people.
Sharp timing.
Tighter list.

Not a mixer.
Not a summit.
Not a shotgun RSVP blast.

This is where August gets interesting:
When you stop chasing crowd size and start curating collision quality.

Because the ones still in London?
They’re not just around.
They’re ready. Available. Present.

And if your event matches that energy, a little slower, a lot more focused - you...

Everyone says their event is “great for networking.”
Spoiler: most of them aren’t.

What you actually get is a lukewarm panel, a cash bar, and a stack of business cards you’ll never look at again.

In London, the problem isn’t access.
The problem is context.

The Lie of the Room

We’ve been sold this myth: put ambitious people in a room and magic happens.

But proximity ≠ connection.
Just because someone’s at your event doesn’t mean they’re primed to meet the right person, say the right...

Let’s say it straight.

If your event has under 100 people and you’re using a platform built for 10,000 - you’ve already lost.

You’re not building intimacy.
You’re just burying it in features nobody asked for.

Coffee booth matchmaking?
In-app Zoom?
Gamified Q&A with leaderboard badges?

Please.
You don’t need a Swiss army knife.
You need a scalpel.

Small events don’t need complexity.
They need connection.

Attendees aren’t confused. They’re just annoyed.

They’re staring at 12 tabs...

Most event tech is a graveyard of good intentions.

Dashboards. Features. Portals. Widgets.

A Frankenstein of functionality - with zero psychology.

Here’s what gets missed: attendees don’t want tools. They want momentum.

They arrive disoriented. Their attention is scattered. They’re looking for one thing: traction.

Where do I go?
What should I care about?
What am I missing?

Every second they hesitate is a drop in perceived value. Not just of your platform - of the entire event.

That’s...

If your networking event still relies on badges, drinks, and vibes — you're losing deals in the room.

Here’s the play:

🧠 Pain:

High-level professionals aren’t attending your event for fun. They’re hunting leverage — insight, access, alignment. But most event formats still trap them in random conversations, one-size-fits-all schedules, and inboxes full of “Hey, great to meet you” follow-ups that go nowhere.

⚡ Insight:

In professional networks, time is currency. Proximity isn’t enough....

The connections are the product.
The right intros. The right energy. The right follow-up.

And yet — most events still treat networking like a side effect.
A free-for-all chat group. A last-minute QR code. A hope.

WhatsApp is great for afterparties.
But not for high-stakes intros.
Not for calibrated, reputation-backed access.

When the room is full of people who shouldn’t waste their time —
you can’t leave serendipity to chance.
And you definitely can’t trust a messaging app to deliver...

Clean isn’t simple.
Minimal isn’t strategic.
And most event tech gets this backwards.

It’s the disease of design theatre.
Shiny apps. Sparse layouts.
Zero logic.

Minimalism is visual.
Simplicity is structural.

A progressive event experience isn’t about decluttering.
It’s about deciding.

Deciding what your attendees need before they ask.
What they never need to see.
Where time can be shaved, and friction cut — without losing soul.

Most ‘modern’ UX?
Fluff on rails.
Aesthetic with no...

Event tech has lost the plot.

Everyone’s building features. Nobody’s building sense.

We’ve seen this before: the AI matchmaker, the chatbot concierge, the smart map with animated footfall heat zones. All singing. All dancing. All distractions.

Here’s what your attendees actually want:

The agenda
Their peers
A way to connect
Then? To be left alone

Simplicity isn’t minimalism. It’s strategy.

It means saying no to the noise, fast.
It means shipping what matters, then listening.
It...

Most event sponsors don’t want “visibility.”
They want pipeline.

But here’s the catch:
Most events make sponsor ROI hard to measure and even harder to justify.

𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻:

What sponsors think they’re paying for:
Lead capture
Brand awareness
Talking to buyers
What they actually get:
A logo buried on a crowded slide
An unmanned booth next to the toilets
A list of half-qualified leads who didn’t even remember talking to them

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵:

👥 Networking is the highest-ROI moment...