On March 4 I hosted the very first of First Wednesdays, my monthly event for meeting new people in New York with beer, wine, and pizza! At a fantastic location in Astor Place, New York, on March 4 we kicked off the monthly event with our fantastic partners at Nova Credit and it was a raging success!
The idea behind First Wednesdays is simple: This is a big city, and sometimes it can be the loneliest place on Earth, so I want to be a part of fixing that and doing so in a more casual way.
Despite thousands of people flowing past you every day, you can come to realize that it's not always easy to grab someone's attention when we've all got plenty of things we “need” to be worrying about.
Why not one of the other events around NYC?
There are events happening everywhere across the city every night but I wanted to build something that didn't have a bigger mission than enjoying beer, wine, and pizza together. I want to bring in as many people as possible and the more casual, in my opinion, the better.
I've not been a big fan in the past of events that try to force connection, or that (for example) ask you to team up into pairs or groups and probe each others' psyche.
So instead I put everyone in a room and made it feel like a house party away from home.
First Wednesdays in NYC
There was a cooler filled with beers, wines, sodas, and waters.
There were 15 pizzas from Joe's.
And there were 70 people all ready to fist or elbow bump “hello” to each other (in this day and age of unhealthy handshakes).
For three hours we chatted and got to connect with people just like ourselves: Some new to the city (one person arrived THAT MORNING), some old (20+ years), but all there to meet new friends.
“Fun, casual event with fab group of people” – BA
“Great event – Josh is very welcoming!” – Sarah
“Great event! None of the painful networking, just a bunch of interesting people from all walks of life who are warm and welcoming. Josh has created a useful and fun community.”
“This was a well-organised event with a great turn out!”
“Great way to meet some cool people who are also looking to meet cool people” – Rae
“Excellent”
“Really fun get together, and made some great useful connections as well!” – Emily
“Awesome event that’s great for people who are new to the city as well as those who have been here for a few years and can all help each other out and share experiences!” – Kurt
“Great way to meet people from home over a beer and pizza” – Cecilia
“This sort of event is great for expanding your group − approachable people who speak the same language, but who have remained strangers so far only because of probability.” – Owen
“Great way to meet the Aussie community and get informed about services I wasn’t even familiar with!” – Dijana
“Casual, easy to meet new people, DIY bar.. what more could you want? Thanks Josh!” – Rosie
“As someone whose brand new to NYC, events like this are a great way to meet people and build a network” – Josh
“Your friends are all here you just have to introduce yourself.” – Brian
“It was such a great feeling to land in NYC and be able to attend an event where you’re not only able to meet those who have done it before you, to hear their stories and pick their brains but to also have service professionals offer guidance on how to get set-up, when it is often tricky to find the right answers online! A great and well organised event!” – Courtney
“Great way to meet others in your situation. Made some fabulous BFFs!” – Simone
“It was a great event to meet other Aussies. Looking forward to the next one” – Kent
Nova Credit
Nova Credit is a cross-border credit reporting agency that enables people who’ve just moved to the U.S. to use their credit history from abroad here in the States and they very proudly powered the first of First Wednesdays!
Akinyi, from Nova Credit, was in the room answering questions while she mixed with the crowd, and the overwhelming response from attendees was that they'd now be recommending Nova Credit to newcomers to the city to start building their credit.
Thanks!
Thanks so much to everyone who attended and made the night so much fun. The next First Wednesdays (due to avoiding large groups for a little bit) will be May 6, save the date!
To be reminded, be sure to sign up to the mailing list below!
