OKE Club’s first networking event

On 25th of April, the OKE Club had its first ever networking event online. A total of 26 people participated in the event on Zoom. The event turns out to be a huge success where everyone has made connections with people from different sectors and backgrounds. Many of them continue to develop their relationship after the event and are working on areas where they can potentially collaborate.

The event started with a warm introduction by Victor Kovalets, the Founder and Managing Director of the OKE Club. Victor emphasized that the aim of the OKE Club is to provide China-UK related entrepreneurs to have a community. The ultimate goal of the OKE Club is to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to gather and share information which will eventually help everyone to grow. Victor also explained the meaning behind the name of the OKE Club: OK is an international symbol for optimism and E stands for entrepreneurship.

Following the introduction by Victor, each participant gave a brief introduction about their own background and sectors they are now in. It’s interesting to see that the first networking event by the OKE Club gathered entrepreneurs from all around the world including an entrepreneur working in the logistics industry in Canada and also a lawyer who is currently practicing in China. We also had several new start-up entrepreneurs. One of the missions of the OKE Club is to connect experienced entrepreneurs with new start up entrepreneurs so that the experienced entrepreneurs can share experiences and also offer each other advice. Every participant talked about their dream businesses in the future. The introduction part was really engaging and a great opportunity for all participants to learn more about each other’s background and aspirations.

Following the inspiring introduction part, we moved to the break out room section of the event. People in the same break out room discussed two questions. 1. What brought them into the world of entrepreneurship; 2. What challenges do they face under the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic? Many participants mentioned the flexibility and freedom that entrepreneurship offers. They do not like hierarchy and bureaucracy in big corporations. They feel more energetic and valued in their own businesses. One entrepreneur from the music and performing arts industry suggested that the business would be much more difficult to operate in a Post-Brexit environment. Before Brexit, the movement of people and resources between the UK and Europe was much easier. Now it was much difficult and therefore is causing disturbance and inconvenience to his business. One participant from the social media industry suggested that it’s very important for a new start up entrepreneur to have a mentor, who can help guide and advice the entrepreneur along the way. Another entrepreneur from the human resource recruitment industry talked about the importance of being passionate about the business you do, which is essential for any business to succeed.

The OKE Club has received many positive feedbacks from the participants with regards to the first online event. It will continue to hold its online and offline events in the future to help this community to grow better and stronger.