Our TableCrowd diners were treated to two splendiferous dinners this week at Aubaine and Tom’s Kitchen, in St Katherine’s Dock. Mark Hardy, CMO of Viber, was our speaker on Tuesday night, along with Jules McKeen, Head of Marketing Practice at The Talent Business,  who shared with us their tips for start-ups looking to attract the best talent they can afford. Guillaume Taurignan from investment bank, Jefferies, joined us on Wednesday night for a discussion about the current financial landscape in The City. Read on to find out what happened this week…

Making your company a ‘talent magnet’ before everyone knows who you are
Mark and Jules joined diners at Aubaine to discuss how you get the best people to gravitate towards your business when you’re not a household name?

Hiring is always a challenge for a new business.

In order to get investment from VCs, you need a hiring plan. It’s only natural that as a fledgling business you won’t immediately be able to compete with multi-nationals such as Apple, Google or Airbnb who have a reputation for nurturing employees and looking after their future. The best way to start with this approach is to punch above your weight on social media, and use your people to get your stories out. Use your network, and try to connect with as many people as possible. People will always meet you for coffee!

For more in depth tips on how to hire the right people for your business, check out 10 ways to hire the right people.

Financing options in the City
Over at Tom’s Kitchen in St Katharine Docks, for dinner we had slow-braised ox cheek and triple-cooked chips with Guillaume Taurignan, who, through his work at Jefferies, knows exactly what’s going on in the investment world at the moment. Guillaume gave us a general idea about the financial landscape from the point of view of the financier, who see hundreds of start-ups every day. Several companies which are attracting a lot of interest from large investment banks such as Jefferies include HelloFresh, who made €70m in revenue last year. Zoopla is also a business that has recently been on Guillaume’s mind, as he usually works with technology companies with ideas that are perhaps difficult to execute.

Simple concepts, says Guillaume, may do well from crowd-funding, but something with a more in-depth tech angle benefit from investment from people such as Guillaume.

You need to believe in your start-ups. You need to believe that you will make a difference.

Our speakers were joined by: Inspire Digital, Pivigo, DataAl, Iratel Ventures, Buto, Friends Recommended It, Crowdmix, Theodo, Dhaba Lane, Harden’s, City Car Club, Attollo, and OneLane amongst others.

Special thanks to our speakers, Mark, Jules and Guillaume.