Belonging to a community is now more important than ever. And why is that? Well, individuals and companies feel a need to connect. In the pandemic that we’re currently in, The Epicenter-community-vibe is still standing strong and you’ll feel it as soon as you walk in the doors.
In October 2020, we asked 200 of our members to give their thoughts on the value of belonging to a community, where networking and knowledge sharing are two important building blocks.
Curious about what they said?
A majority of the respondents (52%) think that it’s very important for both themselves and their businesses to be able to connect with other entrepreneurs and companies. Almost half of the respondents think it’s either important or very important to have access to knowledge sharing.
With these responses in mind, we’re proud to be working so extensively with connecting members and having thought-through knowledge programs.
And who is behind all of the Epicenter’s community work you might think, and how has she worked to make the Epicenter community thrive? Meet Ellen Bjerkehag! Epicenter’s Community manager!
Her mission? To ensure that all Epicenter members thrive through active matchmaking, involvement, and publicity!
“At Epicenter, we strive to be something more than just offering space and workplaces. If you’re a member of our community, we want to be your growth partner and hook you up with the best connections”, says Ellen Bjerkehag.
And how do we do this?
Ellen continues: “Apart from sitting down with members and asking them about their plans going forward, as well as what type of partnerships they might be looking for – I make sure that everyone is offered time in the spotlight. During the After Works hosted every quarter, new members take the stage to give an introduction to their business. And yes – several partnerships between members have derived from these introductions.”
“Work should be a place where you learn something new every day. There is so much knowledge gathered within the Epicenter walls. It’s great to see the eagerness in sharing this knowledge with the rest of the community. My job is easy – I just have to provide the forums.”
If you haven’t attended the Knowledge Wednesdays – make sure you do! Topics range from ‘How to become a LinkedIn expert’ to ‘How to take your business international’. With that said, there is something for everyone (and free lunch)! And if the you-know-what-virus stop us from hosting events at Epicenter – we take them online.”
Check out upcoming masterclasses and events here.
“Apart from the masterclasses, have you entered Disruption Land yet? Epicenter’s brand new podcast with tech, innovation, and transformation at the core of each episode. It’s been a true pleasure welcoming guests from within the community to join me and explore different topics!”
“2020 has indeed been an interesting year – but let’s just say I’m hoping 2021 will be slightly more like a normal year. Anyway! My goal is to involve everyone within the Epicenter community as much as possible. We’ve got the Knowledge Wednesdays to fill, as well as exciting Disruption Land episodes to produce! Nonetheless – let’s hope we can host physical member breakfasts and After Works again more frequently.”
Want to get involved? At Epicenter, we would love to meet you and discuss opportunities for contributing with knowledge sharing and expertise.
Maybe this could be for you in 2021?
Just pop Ellen an email at ellen@epicenterstockholm.com
If you’re not a member and want to become part of our value-driven community – check out our different memberships here.
*The Epicenter Member survey was conducted between September 23rd to October 9th. In total, we had 203 respondents from Epicenter Stockholm, Oslo, and Helsinki. We had 30% respondents from each of the following business segments: startups, scaleups, and corporates. The majority of the respondents were between 25-34 years of age (43%). The respondents were 65% male and 35% female.
