‘City meets Corporate’ event showcases Cambridge small business expertise and hospitality
Cambridge BID showcased some of the city’s best-known suppliers and services for the second City Meets Corporate event at the Graduate Hotel.
Supported by the Cambridge Independent, the event gave networkers a chance to meet stallholders from sectors including hospitality, personal development, wellness, team building, and enjoy a number of workshops – all set up at one of the hotel’s conference rooms by the Cam on a glorious sunny afternoon.
Guests could sample delicious chai tea from Permit Room, or signature cocktails from Revolution, and enjoy home-made treats from Fitzbillies and the University Arms.
For those setting up events, Big Deal Comedy was on hand to explain how it could help provide comedians, while Cambridge Rowing Experience showed how it offers another exhilarating side to the River Cam.
Indie Cambridge, the directory of local independent suppliers who cater to a corporate audience, had Sleepy Bee Studio (offering wax seal making and calligraphy) and Small and Green (plant repotting and care) stands, while Mair Development offered a free sense-check of employee engagement.
After a successful workshop, Janet Fox, Small and Green founder, said: “We enjoyed it. It was good to meet other local businesses and get the opportunity to tell them about our business. The benefits are hopefully to meet businesses who might book us in the future for pop-ups or for corporate workshop events.”
Anne Beamish, founder of Indie Cambridge, said: “This was Indie Cambridge’s first time taking part in the City Meets Corporate event, and what a fantastic opportunity it was to showcase what local small businesses have to offer to the corporate world.
“With changes to many employees’ working patterns and the need to recruit and retain the best people for the job, good employers are always looking for ways to keep their team happy, connected and motivated, and this is where small businesses fit in.
“Even though Cambridge is a small city, it can be really hard to connect small businesses with the bigger players, so this event provided the perfect platform and networking opportunity to do this.”
Members of the Cambridgeshire Repair Café team demonstrated how to prolong the life of your broken office and household items. They are looking for experienced repairers to support their network of cafés – email repairnetwork@cambridge.org if you can help. And Heather Thomas, from Together Culture, led two thought-provoking sessions discussing the question: ‘Is imposter syndrome a superpower?’
Lisa Cole, group sales executive at The Regent, said: “The conversations we had and the potential clients that we met made exhibiting there a worthwhile exercise and we will certainly book for the event again if they do run one. The space at The Regent lends itself well to hosting team-building events, afternoon tea – recently launched – and celebration events.”
Jenny Granshaw, project manager at Cambridge BID, said: “We were so happy to see the positive interactions between stallholders and guests, and business-to-business collaboration.
“The workshops were a huge asset for the event and guests really enjoyed the chance to sample team-building activities. A huge thanks to all who came and Cambridge BID continues to be committed to connecting people within the city from across different sectors”.
