Catena is Latin for chain or link and that’s what we do; bring businesses together. Not so much a networking organisation but more a business connections network, where we actively encourage members to form business relationships.
The role of Catena is to nurture good potential business introductions on behalf of our members, based on our knowledge of the businesses in the Network; which is why we describe what we do as “business matchmaking”.
Why We Do It
Founder Claire Bicknell explains why she feels there is a place for the Catena Network,
“I think it’s time to go beyond networking, in the traditional sense – high volume, superficial business introductions; getting your business card in the hands of as many people as possible! As I talk with business owners and see how they respond to the Catena approach, I realise there is a real appetite out there for more authentic business connections.”
“Networking events do have a reputation of being a necessary evil but what we are aiming to do is give people the opportunity of meeting and chatting with business people they would like to get to know better – whilst attending an event where they get updates from speakers relating the latest business intelligence, sector updates and best business practice – with some nice food and interesting locations!”
A key part of Catena is to help people maintain a strategy in their networking, for instance we circulate the attendee list before each event, allowing people to plan who they would like to speak to and then provide each person with a personalised WLTM (Would Like To Meet) list – a little strategic thinking done on your behalf before you’ve even got to the event!
How We Do It
Members have access to the highly successful Catena organised networking events as well as other events within the Catena Network. These events give them a unique opportunity to meet and do business with our long list of contacts.
Getting Small Businesses closer to large organisations
Our range of member types and sectors is incredibly diverse and this is something we are continuing to build. We are keen to get closer to large organisations as a common challenge for many business owners is developing links with decision makers in larger organisations. This makes Catena good news for local communities as much it is for member businesses.
We are excited about our relationships with Universities. Companies are increasingly recognising the value of linking more closely with Universities and we’re responding to that by building connections with them, to provide a conduit between commerce and academia, so it’s not just B2B connections we are building but A2B and in many cases B2C as well!
We have self-nominated sector champions for different business areas including manufacturing, property, construction, charities, hospitality and science, who can help take the lead in supporting closer connections between members in those sectors.
It is a membership organisation with an annual subscription of £300 (if paid within 7 days), £350 (if paid within 30 days) or 12 monthly payments of £30 for small or start-up businesses.