Don’t call it networking. Simona Barbieri makes a very clear point. Networking, the way it is, does not work anymore, above all for women.
She is the founder of The Hub Dot, a way of meeting other women in an informal way, often in a shop (is there a better way of discussing stuff other than rummaging through a pile of sweaters?).
Every month or so, women gather in a designated place, grab a coloured dot to stick on their top and chat. about everything. The dots represents their mindset: green means ‘I’m here to be inspired’, blue means ‘I’m here to socialise’ and so on. Friendships and partnerships have been spread, hands have been shaken.
The Hub Dot meetings have been extremely successful. The first gathering took place at Simona’s. She invited some friends at her place for coffee and found her living room filled with 90 women eager to socialise. Since then many other events followed and now The Hub Dot organises themed meetings in London, Barcelona, Naples, Milan, the US and more.
