Matthew Stafford talks about entrepreneurial networking that’s out of the box

My guest today is someone I hadn’t met until this podcast: Matthew Stafford who like me is an entrepreneur.Matthew is the founder of a business called 9 Others, which is a global network of entrepreneurs. Along with his co-founder, Katie Lewis, they started the business in 2011 and what began small has grown into quite a large network. At the time, he and Katie were working for a government backed project to help entrepreneurial companies to raise investment, and as you’ll hear, the ‘dining’ idea came out of that.The premise of 9 Others is a dinner which he hosts, along with 10 guests, so it is literally, him and 9 Others. Basically they invite founders of companies, entrepreneurs, people working in startups  - to come to dinner. The format is that each person shares a challenge they’ve come up against, and then for a short time the rest of the group try to help out with ideas and questions. Matthew explains how this works, and that it’s based on Chatham House rules – what’s shared around the table is confidential and there is no hierarchy. He also talks about his love of What 3 Words, explaining the concept and how that business came about, plus how Chris Sheldrick, one of the founders came to a few of the 9 Other dinners when they started.Matthew also shares how the entrepreneurs around the table are selected and invited; with the main aim of having people who will contribute. However, as you’ll hear they are not selected by how much they’re earning or by particular business sectors.9 Others dinners have run in 50 cities around the world, so to hear more about this fascinating idea, listen in.To contact Matthew:Website: https://9others.com/Email: [email protected] you would like to contact me, you can visit my site: www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe