I’m delighted to see the return of my favourite event of all time; Top Cats on 6 October, hosted by moi and sponsored by private healthcare company Galen Health.
As you might remember from previous posts, this strictly invitation-only event for CEOs, Founding Partners, Managing Directors, Senior Technology Providers, Brand Decision Makers, Investors and Media, is one of the most exclusive networking opportunities in London.
There are no formalities at Top Cats events and strictly a no-tie dress code will be implemented on the evening. It’s an informal gathering of like-minded people, many of whom end up collaborating on very interesting projects.
The venue for October’s outing is the Club Room at 1 Parliament Street, Westminster.
As part of their membership, each Top Cat is entitled to nominate two other like-minded individuals to join this lauded network each month. Each nomination is be considered based on strict criteria so that we can ensure the right people attend these events.
What is a Top Cat?
Established Agencies = Founder/CEO/Chair
Technology Providers & Brands (corporations such as Microsoft and the BBC) = Director/Head or other senior decision maker
Startups = Founder/CEO/Chair + secured VC funding or have a seriously good track record
Other = Publishers, Editors, Authors, TV Personalities, Establish Journalists, you get the picture…
To become a Top Cat, you must be referred by someone who is already a member. Unfortunately it’s not possible to apply directly with me or a member of Net.works, my new networking events company, under which, Top Cats now resides.
Please get in touch with kellybaker2@mac.com if you would like to sponsor and upcoming gathering.
I’m delighted to announce June 12th as the date for the next gathering of Top Cats. We’re testing out Adam Street private members club for the next gathering - One Alfred Place was good, but a 21:30 finish is a little early.
If you’re a Top Cat, pencil it in now. Please don’t register your interest just yet - I just wanted to give you a heads up. I received a response from 70 Top Cats within 24 hours of sending out the invite for May. So, make sure you’ve got your finger on the ’send’ button.
The purpose of the event is to forge greater collaboration between London’s Internet startup, Web design, interactive marketing, mobile, TV and advertising communities at the highest level.
Top Cats are now permitted to recommend up to 2 new members each month. To become a member of this exclusive club, you’ll need to be recommended by another Top Cat. Less than 20% of recommendations make it however, so please don’t be offended if you don’t get accepted
Sponsorship opportunity for future gatherings
Get in touch if you’d like to sponsor a future Top Cat event. Email paul@segala.com
I sent out the invitation for our upcoming Top Cats this morning. I’m lazy (Loch is lazier as he does even less) so didn’t bother to use Underwired to send out the email. Instead, I emailed the 450 Top Cats in batches of 20 to 30, to help bypass filters that stop emails with a lot of email addresses in the To field. Therein lies the hint. I put everyone’s email address in the ‘To’ field instead of BCC’ing them. I immediately sent out an apology for distributing emails with the following note
Dear Top Cat,
Today I decided to send out the invitations in groups of 20 to 30, as it looks like some company filters automatically block emails with a lot of contacts in the To field. What I failed to realise was that I put your email address in the ‘To’ field instead of BCC. This means approximately 25 other people know your email address.
I apologise profusely for the screw up. I’ll revert back to using a professional company for email distribution. Felix from Underwired.com - expect an email from me soon!
The good news is that everyone on the list is obviously more professional than me and will assume your details should be kept confidential.
Some of them just laughed whilst others said that it was a privilege to be such a list anyway. Phew!
Behind every cloud lies a silver lining. I received 30 confirmations within 15 minutes of sending out the invitation with sample names in the To field. If you’ve been to this event in the past and didn’t get an invite, get in touch before it’s too late.
Whilst you might not recognise some of the companies on the list, it’s extremely likely that the Founders are either backed by an investor, or have previously sold at least one company.
Look at who’s coming in June
I will continue to update the list as more Top Cats RSVP. Keep an eye on the post if you want to see who else is coming.
Alastair Duncan, CEO, mrm Worldwide
Alberto Nardelli, Founder, UnLtdWorld
Alex Cooper, MD, 1upSearch
Alexis d’Amecourt, 19 Entertainment (they don’t have titles)
Andrew Romans, General Partner, Georgetown Ventures
Those with blanks for names aren’t allowed to be named as the company is way too cool. You know who you are Can you guess who it is?
Hosts
(Me) Paul Walsh, Chair, BIMA & Founder/CEO, Segala
Rob Loch, Founder, Internet People, Founder, Recommendbox
Sponsored by
Top Cats isn’t restricted to the UK. We welcome Top Cats from any country to get in touch should they wish to rub shoulders with, er, cats. Check my previous post for more information and email me paul@segala.com if you would like to attend, or would like to recommend someone you know.
I’ve been asked this by a few people recently so thought I’d reiterate it here.
Every month, Robert Loch and I host an exclusive invite-only event called Top Cats. The goal of the event is to forge stronger ties and greater collaboration between the Internet start up, mobile, interactive marketing, TV and advertising communities.
There are no formalities apart from a short introduction to the evening and we don’t have speakers. It’s an informal gathering of likeminded people, many of whom end up collaborating on very interesting projects.
Who qualifies to be a Top Cat?
Top Cats is attended by top level executive, senior decision makers, investors and reporters.
Established Agencies = Founder/CEO/Chai
Technology Providers & Brands (big companies such as Microsoft and the BBC) = Director/Head or other senior decision maker
Startups = Founder/CEO/Chair + secured VC funding or have a seriously good track record
Other = Publishers, Editors, Authors, TV Personalities, Establish Journalists, you get the picture…
The entry criterion is quite strict. This isn’t to alienate non-Top Cats, it’s just one way in which we can deliver different types of events that are relevant to different people. If you feel you meet the criterion above, please get in touch by email janice.cable@bima.co.uk
The next gathering of our Top Cats is May 1st. Sponsored by Microsoft (for the second time!) and hosted at One Alfred Place Private members club in London. I had lunch with the Chief Executive during the week - the venue is second to none and the food was delicious.
Here are some names to give you a taste for ‘who’s who’.
Alastair Duncan, CEO, mrm Worldwide
Alexis d’Amecourt, Head of New Media, 19 Entertainment
Amanda Lorenzani, Head of UK Portal, Excite
Andrew Shorten, EMEA Platform Evangelist, Adobe
Angela Kirkham, Publishing Manager, O2
Avid Larizadeh, Associate, Accel Partners
Ben Luckett, Head of E-commerce, British Gas
Carl Taylor, Director of Applications & Services, Hutchinson Whampoa
Charles Billot, Marketing Director, Soup
Chris Wood, CEO, Top Table
Craig Hill, Founder / Chairman, Digital Outlook
David Soskin, CEO, Cheapflights
Daniel Appelquist, Senior Technology Strategist, Vodafone Group
Dennis Greene, Head of E-business, Royal Mail
Daniele Fiandaca, COO, Profero
Dr Charles Wiles, Product Manager, Google
Felix Velarde, Founder, Underwired
Hugh MacLeod, Professional Blogger
Jemima Kiss , New Media Reporter, Media Guardian
Justin Champney, Head of Brand Innovation EMEA, McCann Worldwide
Hosts
(Me) Paul Walsh, Chair, BIMA & Founder/CEO, Segala
Robert Loch, Founder, Internet People & Founder, Recommendbox.com
Sponsorship Opportunity
The Top Cats event is made possible by sponsorship.
Sponsors of the event receive:
Brand promote on the invitation email, sent to more than 450 top people from London’s interactive sector.
Inclusion in the reminder email for the event.
The option to have marketing material at the event.
Option to recommend people for the invitation list
The option to give a two-minute ‘word from our sponsor’ talk at the event.
We’ve never had any trouble attracting sponsorship and we might have two secured for June and July already (unconfirmed). That said, we don’t like to make assumptions and would love to hear from you if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor. We’re considering an unusual event for June which may require a few sponsors to come together.
To learn more about sponsorship please email me Paul@segala.com
Every month, Robert Loch and I host an event called Top Cats. The goal of the event is to forge stronger ties and greater collaboration between the internet start up, mobile, interactive marketing, TV and advertising communities.
There are no formalities apart from my introduction to the evening and we don’t have speakers. It’s an informal gathering of likeminded people, many of whom end up collaborating on very interesting projects.
Technology Providers & Brands (big companies such as Microsoft and the BBC) = Director/Head or other senior decision maker
Startups = Founder/CEO/Chair + secured VC funding or have a seriously good track record
Other = Publishers, Editors, Authors, TV Personalities, Establish Journalists, you get the picture.
I’m going to have a chit chat with a few people tonight and stream it live via my mobile. Keep an eye on my Qik account and feel free to comment and ask questions in the live chat room. It might be better to subscribe to my Twitter feed so you get a text message each time I stream live.
So, another Top Cats event is upon us. Check out the names of those who have said they can make it this month.
The Top Cats are in town and meeting again on the usual hot tin roof this week.
Each month I host a very exclusive invitation-only event with Robert Loch called Top Cats in London. The goal of the event is to forge stronger ties and greater collaboration between the internet start up, mobile, interactive marketing, TV and advertising communities.
The quality of people at this months Top Cats was excellent as to be expected. Click on the video to get a feel for the type of people who attend and to hear what they think about the importance of networking.
Here’s the list of confirmed attendees for this month’s Top Cats. I’ll post a comprehensive list in the next day or so. Names marked with * have been added after this post was originally published.
Quick overview
Robert Loch and I host many different types of events and felt that something was missing. We felt something little different and exclusive to the real decision makers within the Industry was needed. So, Top Cats was born.
I’ve just announced the date for the next Top Cats exclusive ‘invite only’ event on the BIMA blog. I’d link to the Facebook group where you can see all the photos of the recent one, but the site is down.
In the picture above you can see Steve Clayton, CTO, Microsoft UK Partnerships, Charolette Hands and myself (co-host with Robert Loch).
I wonder if Steve would rate this photo higher than his album with Bill Gates and Steve Balmer.
Robert Loch and I came up with the idea of getting top industry people together at a new exclusive event. So, BIMA and Internet People are coming together to host a new exclusive event called Top Cats, which is for top individuals from the UK’s Interactive sector.The goal of the event is to forge stronger ties and greater collaboration between the internet start up, mobile, interactive marketing, TV and advertising communities.Top Cats will be held every four to six weeks starting with the first event tonight from 7pm. The event is free of charge and drinks and nibbles are being provided.
The first Top Cats is exclusively sponsored by Podcast Voices who ‘were the UK’s first dedicated audio and video Podcast Production Company and have clients ranging from Lonely Planet to the NHS.’
Intruders.tv will be there to captures interview with top industry people.
Here’s a list of the Top Cats attending this evening.
1. Alastair Duncan, CEO, mrm Worldwide
2. Amit Shah, VP Business development, Openads
3. Andrew McFadyen, Technology Producer, ITN
4. Andy Evans, Founder / MD, Net Communities
5. Andy Oakes, Publisher, NMA
6. Avid Larizadeh, Associate, Accel Partners
7. Benjamin Cohen, Technology Correspondent, ITN
8. Carl Taylor, Director, Hutchison Whampoa Europe
9. Charles Astwood, Founder, London Eating
10. Chris Mooney, International Editor, FHM
11. Chris Seth, European CEO, Piczo
12. Chris Wood, CEO, Top Table
13. Daniel King, Director, Hitwise
14. David Lethbridge, Managing Director, Confetti
15. Dennis Greene, Head of E-business, Royal Mail
16. Ed Freyfogle, Co-founder, Nestoria
17. Giles Palmer, Managing director, Magpie.net
18. Hilary Birch, Safety Project Manager, Bebo
19. Ian Hayward, Founder / CEO, Glaxstar
20. James Brown, Creative Director, Podcast Voices
21. Justin Champney, Head of Brand Innovation EMEA, McCann Worldgroup
22. Ken Blakeslee, Founder, Web Mobility
23. Michael Collins, Director, i-Publishing Consultants (BIMA Executive)
24. Michael Nutley, Editor in Chief, NMA
25. Michelle Acton Bond, Head of Marketing, Wonga
26. Mustafa Mustafa, Publishing Director, IDG Communications
27. Nenad Marovac, Founder and managing partner, DN Capital
28. Paul Fisher, Venture Capitalist, Advent Ventures
29. Philip Wilkinson, Founder, Crowdstorm
30. Pietro Peligra, Associate, DN Capital
31. Richard Sedley, Director, cscape (unable to attend)
32. Richard Spalding, Founder, Kontraband
33. Ryan Carson, Founder, Carson Systems
34. Scott Rutherford, Product Architect, Cominded
35. Sean Seton-Rogers, Associate, Balderton Capital (aka Benchmark)
36. Simon Grice, Founder / CEO, Midentity
37. Sutha Kamal, CEO, planQ
38. Syd Nadim, CEO, Clock
39. Tom Adams, Founder / MD, mook
40. Tom Evans, Founder / Creative Director, mook
41. Tom Sacchi, Director, Unit9
42. Matthew Bagwell, Director, Conchango (BIMA Executive)
43. Steve Clayton, CTO, Microsoft Partnerships UK (BIMA Executive)
44. Tony Cocks, Solution Specialist: Unified Comms & Mobility, Microsoft
45. Roger Thelwell, Founder / Operations Director, mook
46. Robert Dirskovski, Head of Interactive Media, Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
47. Neil Hughston, Managing Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive
48. Mark Fallons, Head of Interactive, McCann Europe
49. Julie Lane, Sales & Marketing Director, Lbi (BIMA Executive)
50. Sam Sethi, Founder / Publisher, Blognation
52. Andrew Romans, General Partner, Georgetown Ventures
53. Judith Clegg, Founder, Venturing Unlimited
54. Mike Butcher, Editor, Tbites.com
55. Cathy Grimes, Marketing Manager Personal Solutions, Equifax
56. Daniel Appelquist, Senior Technology Strategist, Vodafone / Founder of Mobile Monday London
57. Jason Dunne, Publisher, “… for Dummies” and Capstone Business Books
58. Juliet Blackburn, Head of Digital, AAR (BIMA Executive)
59. Alistair Gammell, Managing Director, Map Media
60. Darren Gerry, Client Partner, Lbi
61 Peter Ward, Co-founder, WAYN
62. Craig Hill, Founder / Chairman, Digital Outlook
63. Anthony Robb-John, Managing Director, easyGroup IP Licensing
64. Jasmine Birtles, Founder / MD, moneymagpie.com
65. Felix Velarde, Founder / MD, Underwired
66. Dr Charles Wiles, Product Manager, Google
67. Robert Loch, Founder, Internet People (new startup in stealth mode)
68. Paul Walsh, Founder / CEO, Segala (BIMA Chair)
Can you guess who it is?
Gerald Wiggins says 
marco goldschmied says 
Sharon Crossley says 
