Business Networking & Events Blog | VASO

VASO has been an interesting journey, and it actually started back in 2011 when I created a website called Networking in Berkshire. I'd just started Digity, my digital marketing agency, and as part of my business development, I began attending events organised by the Chamber of Commerce, the IoD and various other organisations. Every time I went somewhere new, I met someone new. And invariably, they'd tell me about somewhere else worth going. I reckon in those first three months I attended around 20 different events, met 100 good people and built some serious momentum for Digity.

What I quickly realised was that there wasn't a single source of information about all these events. There were loads of individual websites, each promoting their own activities, but nowhere bringing everything together. So I created one. The idea was simple. Give people like me somewhere to discover relevant events, while giving the people organising them an easy way to promote what they were doing.

And it worked.

Organically, the platform grew to attract hundreds of visitors every week and a few thousand members. We even replicated the model for Buckinghamshire and Surrey. Then Covid hit and face-to-face events disappeared almost overnight, momentum faded and, with plenty of other things demanding my attention, the whole thing eventually came to an end. Fast-forward six fascinating years...I realised I'd become pretty insular. I wasn't getting out to events, wasn't meeting many new people and, if I'm being truthful, felt like something was missing. I started making an effort to get out again, but never really committed to it. There was always that nagging feeling that I should be focusing my time elsewhere. With AI taking off, Digity growing and the demands of running a business, time and headspace for anything new were in pretty short supply. But then a few things happened; I discovered padel. I met some great guys (literally, one of them is called Guy!) who were building exciting businesses and bringing people together through networking. And I started attending a few more events.

And I liked it. I liked the conversations, the topics, the learning and, perhaps most importantly, the energy that comes from meeting new people and catching up with familiar faces. It reminded me of what I'd been missing. VASO originally started with quite a specific focus around padel and business networking, but I soon realised that the real beauty of my original website was its variety. A breakfast meeting. A seminar. A golf day. An awards evening. An exhibition. A padel tournament. I don't need to want to attend everything. In fact, finding just one really good event each month could be absolutely plenty.

The important thing is knowing what's out there. So, here we are in October 2026, VASO has been created to bring back the essence of what I built all those years ago, even using some of the same underlying ideas and structure, but with a bit of AI magic thrown in to help bring everything up to date.

My aspirations for the platform are pretty simple; to create opportunities for people by helping them connect, both online and offline. As someone else I spoke to about the idea that I respect immensley, "it's arguably more relevant now than ever before" and he's right. As I write this, I genuinely feel that the world of work, particularly professional services, is entering a pretty scary period. In my view, AI is going to dramatically reduce the number of jobs available in certain sectors. That presents a real challenge for the bright young superstars of tomorrow trying to get their first foot on the career ladder. Equally, businesses and individuals who aren't embracing technology are going to find it increasingly difficult to compete.

But here's the thing. For all the incredible things technology can do, I still believe there's enormous value in getting out, meeting people, sharing experiences and building genuine relationships. And that's where VASO comes in. There's a big social element to what we're trying to achieve. I want to challenge the notion that business and pleasure should somehow be kept separate.

Why shouldn't we enjoy ourselves while building our networks?

In the past few days alone, I've heard about padel networking events, corporate darts tournaments, golf days and charity initiatives, all designed to bring people together and have some fun along the way. Brilliant. That's exactly the sort of thing I want VASO to help more people discover.

Why VASO?

The word vaso is Spanish for 'glass' or 'drinking vessel' and when I think about how I've built my network over the years, drinking vessels have certainly been at the heart of so many of those moments; drinks at bars, coffees in nice lounges, moments at the water coolers or conversations over a table. Simple moments that have led to some brilliant relationships, opportunities and friendships.

I liked the idea of a name that represented those moments of connection, plus it's short, fresh, easy to remember and, when we started playing with the design, I thought it looked pretty cool too.

That was more than enough for me!

Where do we go from here? Well, that's partly down to you. VASO isn't about my team organising a load of events and expecting everyone to turn up. It's about helping the business community discover the brilliant things already happening around them, supporting the people and organisations putting in the hard work to make those events happen, and creating more opportunities for people to connect. I'll be looking for like-minded sponsors and organisations who believe in what we're building and want to help it grow.

The bigger VASO becomes, the more we can do to support businesses, event organisers, charities and the wider community. And I've got a few ideas - nothing hectic, just a podcast, roadshow, radio station and hot air balloon races...

Can't be all work, work, work, eh?

Here's to new connections and a bright future.