We had two fantastic dinners this week, with a group of entrepreneurs and founders dining with Julian Blake, editor of TechCityinsider, at Mint Leaf Lounge, and our sharing economy dinner with Compare & Share and Jumio at City Social, Tower 42. Here’s a quick catchup on what went on:

Getting media coverage is all in the timing
There were questions aplenty at Tuesday night’s dinner with TechCityinsider’s Julian Blake. The evening was supercharged with a buzzing atmosphere and a group of chatty diners. Julian spoke knowledgeably on how best to sell your startup story, putting particular emphasis on what he would be interested in as a journalist. It was a great opportunity to identify what separates startups that are featured by TechCityinsider and the ones that don’t make the cut.

One of the most important pieces of information garnered from Julian was that the most important element is timing; a startup needs to be at the right stage before they approach the journalist. During the lively Q&A session, which included answers to what makes one business stand out from another, and the best ways to contact a journalist, there was a discussion about the use of PR companies. Whilst there are benefits and pitfalls, Julian did explain how he works closely with some PR specialists and, at times, relies heavily on their recommendations. Ultimately, it was a successful evening spent dissecting the mind of an experienced journalist.

City Social has the best toilets in London. Fact.
Our sharing economy dinner definitely experienced private dining with spectacular views at City Social this week, which was the perfect backdrop for, Chief Sharer at Compare & Share, Benita’s talk on her bizarre sharing economy experiences. The dinner was also a fantastic opportunity for diners to meet the Jumio team, and find out more about their technology that improves ID verification processes which is vital for sharing economy companies. James Fletcher of Jumio said:

The evening had great food, an interesting crowd and was well organised by hosts. TableCrowd is an all round good experience I would recommend.

Diners this week included RentMyItems, Grub Club, TrustedHousesitters, GoCarShare, GetTaxi, Girl Meets Dress, Liftshare, UnderTheDoormat, 1ROOF, TheJobPost, Street Stream, GrantTree, DayThrill, Rawduck as well as others.

Here are some snippets from the evenings:

Thanks to our partners Alma CG, Compare & Share and Jumio for the involvement in these dinners.

For more TableCrowd dinners, take a look here.