Paul Walsh, the Irish Opportunist

OpenSoho is an informal meet-up in Soho for people working in the tech & media industries in London. Everyone welcome. It’s not necessary to live or work in the Soho area to join the group or attend the events.

Last month, 200 tickets went in less than 12 hours and this month, 200 disappeared in less than 3 hours! Moreover, the tickets this month were released to my mailing list only. As I promised the mailing list, they’ll always be the first to hear about tickets being released for OpenSoho and all other upcoming events - if you’re not signed up already, why not do it now.

At the time of writing this post, there were 28 tickets left for OpenSoho March - which by the way, falls on St Patrick’s Day. So, it’s compulsory to wear something Irish - even if it’s just something green.

Sponsored by

http://www.voipuser.org/

“VoIP User is the largest open-source voice network. They like to buck the mainstream trend by building interesting applications around VoIP and by using a unique funding model based on revenue generated by calls inbound to its network. VoIP User also have a well-maintained, spam free, forum for discussion about voice technologies and their application.”

Please get in touch if you’d like to sponsor an OpenSoho in the future - paulatwubud.com

What happens if I don’t get a ticket?

If you don’t manage to get a ticket, please don’t email us as there’s way too much admin involved in adding people. We really can’t make exceptions to the rule this month. We might however, run a lottery closer to the time if the demand is high enough. Please leave a comment here if you don’t get a ticket and would like to be entered into the lottery.

Register for OpenSoho now.

The Chateau in the picture is the actual venue we’re going to use.

What could be more fun than a focused business retreat in a stunning 17th century Chateau with 3 swimming pools?!

There’s no point in just having an idea, you need to execute! Two friends launched a new travel company recently called pure escapes, so I decided to take a look at the site to see if it was appropriate to pimp to my Twitter followers - within seconds the site made sense and it got me thinking about how we could organise a business related event at one of their fantastic venues.

So, I’m doing it - all decided in an hour. Actually, I won’t be doing it. ‘We’ will be doing it - it’ll be under the new networking events company I’m setting up with Caroline Whitmey and Mike Fletcher.

The trip is heavily subsidised so we hope it’s accessible to everyone. There’s room for 24 entrepreneurs at a cost of just £449 per person - that includes:

• Flights (from Luton, London - people from other countries are welcome!) £349 if you don’t want to use the flights we’re putting on - this will help those flying from a different country/city
• 3 nights accommodation
• 3 course meal each night including wine. The chef and staff will prepare the meal, serve it and clear away
• Welcome pack of food to cover breakfast and lunches while we are there
• Daily maid service
• Access to likeminded people for 3 days - people who will share ideas and help to resolve real business issues

This is a business retreat that will be fun, creative, productive and unforgettable. It might even end up being the first of many retreats abroad. It doesn’t stop when the retreat is over - you will receive post-event help from at least 2 people to you generate new business.

More about the venue

Within an hour’s drive are the wonderful towns of Bordeaux and La Rochelle. Bordeaux is known for its beauty and historical background, with elegant boulevards and countless boutique cafes.

The interior consists of 18 bedrooms, 13 spacious bathrooms, an intimate salon, a snooker room, 3 equipped kitchens, a large 30 seat indoor dining room or an outdoor dining terrace for those warm evenings, BBQ area and 3 swimming pools.

Our thanks go to pure escapes for subsidising the trip to help make it very accessible to everyone.

Travel itinerary

The flight details are - London Luton to Bordeaux on Saturday 9th May, departing at 13.35 and arriving at 16.20. Returning on Tuesday 12th at 16.50 arriving at 17.35. Transfer - 1 1/4 hour drive to and from the chateau. Attendees flying from a different airport can discount £100 from the total price.

We’re looking for sponsors to help reduce the price per person even further. Please get in touch if you’re interested. Please get in touch if you’re a journalist and would like to cover the story. Don’t we need more of this?

Feel free to leave a comment if you have ideas on how we could run the retreat - even if you don’t want to come. All ideas are most welcome. We already have a bunch of cool people who want in. We even have two potential sponsors already!

To apply for this unique and unrivaled networking opportunity, please email me at paulatsegala.com and provide as much background about yourself as possible.

Sign up to the mailing list if you want to be the first to hear about this, OpenSoho and other cool events in the future.

Sponsored by:

Please get in touch if you’d like to support/sponsor this event - paulatsegala.com

I will continue to update this post as details become available.

[Update: few minutes later... sold out]

We released another 50 tickets last night on account of another event being hosted on the same evening. However, 44 of them were taken up within a couple of hours of me sending out a message to our mailing list. That left just 6.

After twittering about it just 1 minute ago, 2 more went. That leaves just 4. So you need to be fast if you’re to get a ticket for London’s most popular tech event.

Moral of the story? Sign up to the mailing list at http://paulfwalsh.com/events to ensure you hear about this and other upcoming events that might be of interest.

Have fun and good luck with getting a ticket. Get your ticket now

By the time I finished writing this post ALL TICKETS WERE TAKEN - so we’ve just released another 20. HURRY!!

SPONSORED BY:

VIAPOST - http://www.viapost.com/

ViaPost is the Skype of post (Post Over Internet Protocol)…send physical letters direct from your computer at the touch of a button from 27p, including print, stationary, envelope and 2 day delivery. No more stuffing envelopes or licking stamps.

IQ Development - http://iq-development.com

An ideal development house to partner with for delivery of exceptional online solutions.

Always looking for sponsors for this and other events

Please get in touch if you’d like to sponsor this event paul@wubud.com

[Update: all 250 tickets were gone within 12 hours.]

Join us for an informal meet-up in Soho for people working in the tech & media industries in London. Everyone welcome. It’s not necessary to live or work in the Soho area to join the group or attend the events.

With more 300 in attendance at the last one, make sure you don’t miss out.

Join the Facebook group to stay updated.

If you’re on twitter you can also follow @opensoho for updates.

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SPONSORED BY:

VIAPOST - http://www.viapost.com/

ViaPost is the Skype of post (Post Over Internet Protocol)…send physical letters direct from your computer at the touch of a button from 27p, including print, stationary, envelope and 2 day delivery. No more stuffing envelopes or licking stamps.

IQ Development - http://iq-development.com

An ideal development house to partner with for delivery of exceptional online solutions.

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LOOKING FOR ONE MORE SPONSOR

Please get in touch if you’d like to sponsor this event paul@wubud.com

Thanks to Boring for shooting the video.

Check out the next gathering, sponsored by:

VIAPOST - http://www.viapost.com/

ViaPost is the Skype of post (Post Over Internet Protocol)…send physical letters direct from your computer at the touch of a button from 27p, including print, stationary, envelope and 2 day delivery. No more stuffing envelopes or licking stamps.

http://iq-development.com

An ideal development house to partner with for delivery of exceptional online solutions.

—-

LOOKING FOR ONE MORE SPONSOR

Please get in touch if you’d like to sponsor this event paul@wubud.com