Lara Eve Feltin
Biznik Co-Founder

Biznik: Business Networking That Doesn't Suck

• http://www.biznik.com

I'm an indie too, a fine art photographer, although building Biznik has become a full time job. The desire to find a business networking community that both of us wanted to be a part of provided the motivation for my husband and I, Dan McComb, to start Biznik. We held our first business networking meeting in May of 2005 and invited all the creative indie entrepreneurs we knew. A dozen people showed up at the ungodly hour of 7am. Our intention was to organize a group of people we could share resources with and send work to. Known as...[more]

I'm an indie too, a fine art photographer, although building Biznik has become a full time job. The desire to find a business networking community that both of us wanted to be a part of provided the motivation for my husband and I, Dan McComb, to start Biznik. We held our first business networking meeting in May of 2005 and invited all the creative indie entrepreneurs we knew. A dozen people showed up at the ungodly hour of 7am. Our intention was to organize a group of people we could share resources with and send work to. Known as the BizGroup, it was a gift to our community, but more importantly we hoped to simply drum up some more work for ourselves. Word began to spread and within 3 months we realized we were on to something. Biznik LLC was formed on November 1, 2005, Nadja Haldimann created a logo for us, Chris Haddad wrote a killer Manifesto, and Dan launched a new site to go along with it all.

[Christopher Johnson, aka The Name Inspector, wrote an excellent blog post on the name "Biznik".]

By December 2005 we had 100 members. By the anniversary of our first meeting on May 25, 2006 Biznik reached 751. As our membership grew so did the requests for more features, and Dan continued to develop the site in his spare time. It was now time to start charging some money so Biznik could support itself and continue to grow. In February 2006 we made it possible for members to submit and host their own events. Those who charged an event fee, passed 1/3 of the fee on to Biznik. In July 2006 Biznik began offering it's members web hosting services for $12/month. In September we introduced a supporting membership category that provided increased visibility on the site for $10/month. By November 1, 2006, Biznik's first anniversary, we were in the middle of developing the new site we launched in July 2007.

Biznik is an event-centric social network for the indie professional. Our mission is to help each other build our businesses through networking, collaboration and education. You can host events in your own area, and participate in the community online through the BizTalk forum and the event discussion boards. If there's anything I can do to help you to get Biznik working for you, please do not hesitate to drop me a line. [less]

• 
  From sarah novotny

  Given on Mon Jun 2, 2008.

  Lara was a great speaker at the six hour startup conference this weekend. She and Dan gave a very approachable...[more]

  Lara was a great speaker at the six hour startup conference this weekend. She and Dan gave a very approachable into to networking and using biznik (socially, most of the guests could navigate the tech part quite well themselves). They made the whole concept of networking sound appealing instead of slimy and sales-y. thanks!   [less]
• 
  From Kathie Nelson

  Given on Tue May 6, 2008.

  Lara and Dan,

  "Networking the Biznik Way" in Portland was a hit with me. It is clear the added value...[more]

  Lara and Dan,

  "Networking the Biznik Way" in Portland was a hit with me. It is clear the added value in this network as you worked through each area of the website.

  From the membership options that increase exposure on Google and through the membership, to the off line events, and even bookmarking your favorite events or people it is clear your goal is service, connectivity, and community...oh, and collaboration too.

  Your willingness and open attitude to feedback and letting the site be shaped by the community is quite compelling. It lends itself to an authenticity and humility that will attract like minded folks to your organization.

  Thanks for creating this forum. I look forward to celebrating with you as your "baby" grows and walks on it's own.

  Great work, guys!

     [less]
• 
  From Debbie Rosemont

  Given on Tue Apr 29, 2008.

  Dan and Lara's "How to Network the Biznik Way" event was very valuable. Beyond learning more about how to maximize...[more]

  Dan and Lara's "How to Network the Biznik Way" event was very valuable. Beyond learning more about how to maximize my Biznik membership, I also learned that the founders of Biznik are smart, savvy, personable and passionate about what they've created.    [less]
• 
  From Bill Hoffer

  Given on Thu Apr 17, 2008.

  Lara............attended the tutorial about how to plug into all the benefits of Biznik last nite. I highly recommend everyone go...[more]

  Lara............attended the tutorial about how to plug into all the benefits of Biznik last nite. I highly recommend everyone go to this event in the future. The site is amazing and continues to get better with all the plans you have in the works. Thanks for everything that you and Dan do to help grow the community and show us how to expand our network.

  "Your network is your net worth"   [less]

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Lara Eve's blog: Biznik - Business Networking that Doesn't Suck

• Interview with BizJam sponsor Entellium CEO Paul Johnston

  Posted Fri, 04 Jul 2008 by Dan McComb

  BizJam is thrilled to welcome Entellium as a sponsor. And since I don’t know much about them or the their products, I asked Entellium CEO Paul Johnston a few questions to learn more… Q: Tell me the short story about Entellium. Like all budding entrepreneurs, I started Entellium with the desire to change the world in [...]

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• Improv instructor Matt Smith will emcee BizJam soireé

  Posted Thu, 03 Jul 2008 by Dan McComb

  The BizJam party on Thursday night will be emceed by Matt Smith, a long-time Biznik member who teaches improv, among other things. He’ll keep the evening flowing, and has a special collaborative event planned. Read on to learn more… Q: Briefly describe what you do for a living. I am a benefit auctioneer and a communications [...]

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• Intuit’s Laura Messerschmitt: Listen to your customers

  Posted Thu, 03 Jul 2008 by Dan McComb

  As many of you who are Biznik members probably remember, Laura Messerschmitt is the person at Intuit who contributed a lot of articles to this community back in April. We’re thrilled that Intuit is continuing it’s sponsorship of this community by sponsoring BizJam. Laura will be attending, and there’s a good reason to drop by [...]

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