Columbus Ohio Area Networking Guide
The goal of this guide is give you information on the variety of networking events in the Columbus Ohio area. All of these events can be found via online sources, but it might take you awhile to stumble across all of them. They have been organized here into groups based on the general nature of the event.
Local Community Entrepreneurial Centers
Community supported centers where startup businesses can get support in the form of low-cost office facilities, access to local experts and continuous business related educational events. These events are attended by many of this area's top companies and are an excellent source for new contacts.
| Innovate New Albany | Several educational events a month on a variety of business related topics |
| Dublin Entrepreneurial Center (DEC) | Several educational events a month on a variety of business related topics |
| Cultivate (Grove City) | 1-2 educational events a month on a variety of business related topics |
Pure Networking Events
These events are just for networking. Some are designed for lead sharing while others are just opportunities to meet others with no particular goal.
| Connected Networking Group | This group is a great way to get together and meet other local business owners and business professionals. If you are looking to make new friends and strengthen business connections, this is the place for you. We have multiple events all over Central Ohio. We have live events, virtual events, and hybrid events! We have early morning events, and late night events and everything in between! |
| Business First Breakfast | Monthly morning networking hosted by the Business First Newspaper. A great event with across Columbus attendance. |
Technology Related
There are several scheduled meetings every month on a variety of topics. Besides meeting folks of common interest, these events are held at many of the major employers in the area creating opportunities to meet employees of those companies.
| Amazon Web Services Group |
| Azure Columbus |
| Central Ohio Agile Group (COHAA) |
| Columbus Atlassian Users Group |
| Columbus Web Group |
| CoolTechGirls |
| Javascript Users Group |
| Python Users Group |
| Startup Grind |
| Wordpress Group |
Startup or Entrepreneurial Pitch Events
Organized events to give startups an opportunity to present new ideas and seek the community’s feedback and support.
| Product Hunt Columbus | Semi-Regular presentations from local startups |
| Rev1 Ventures | Local business that supports startups. They hold meetings every month. |
Job Search Groups
These are events managed by local recruiters. Some charge a small fee to attend. These events are open to all job seekers. The attendees are across industrials and functions with experience ranging 1-20 years.
| Tuesday Tune-up | General job search group open to the public. Interesting speakers each week. Meets online. Free to attend. |
Links
Below are links to several websites where you can find more information about the groups mentioned above and others groups.
| Meetup | Website devoted to organizing events of many interest. Great way to meet people interested in a specific topic. |
| Eventbrite | General Interest Meetings |
| Columbus Business Newspaper Calendar | Local Business Newspaper |
| Idea Foundry | Local Makers space. They hold several educational events each month. |
| Meetup - Columbus Tech Focused | Website devoted to organizing Technology focused events. |