The World Cup brings startups together
The MC Boston office has a kitchen with sofas and a TV. Normally, this room is used for quick meetings and getting work done. However, this summer the World Cup changed everything.
One day, as I was working, I heard people screaming from the kitchen. I walked there to see what was happening and I’m surprised. The 100 founders of startups that are usually working incredibly hard at their desks until late at night and seem to have no free time to have fun are now focused on watching Argentina vs. Nigeria. As I love soccer myself, I bring my laptop and I start working while I watch the game.
As time passes, I started seeing different founders discussing and joking about the game. Eventually, they include me in the conversation. By the time the game ended, I have met the founders of 4 different startups and had a fun conversation with them. As a good business student, I added them on LinkedIn 5 minutes later.
Since then, this became a routine. Every time an important game from the World Cup was being played, more and more startups would gather around the TV, watch the game, and ultimately, connect.
Although it was very simple, this experience at work made a great impression on me and highlighted the benefits of having a laid-back work environment. Normally, when people are “networking” you would think that they are in suits talking about their resumes. Turns out, the things outside of work are the ones that can bring people to work together.