Business networking by playing Segway Polo and other 21st century sports
Business and sport go together. Think golf, think sponsorship and branding, think corporate boxes, or breaking the ice by talking about last night's game before a meeting starts.
While the old adage says a lot of business is done on the golf course, fastcompany.com says golf is so business 1.0. If you want to meet and play with the movers and shakers of the modern world you have to get out and play 21st century sports such as Segway Polo.
In Playing Games with Networking read how Segway Polo tops a list that includes Ultimate Frisbee, Kiteboarding, Snow-Kiting and Dodgeball.
So who's playing the new sports of the new millennium? Steve Wozniak (Apple co-founder) of course, now add Richard Branson (Virgin), Larry Page (CEO, Google), Drew Houston (CEO, Dropbox), Othman Laraki (Twitter), along with partners and founders from many of the main venture capital firms. Find out more about what these people say appeals to them in Playing Games with Networking. For example:
"Tech people were the ones willing to first spend $5,000 on a Segway. Then we started saying, 'What could we do with these things?' And we wanted to socialize," says Wozniak.
Woz hits the ball fair and square - these new sports are a way for enthusiastic people to spend time with those who they'd otherwise probably never be able to reach. Check out some of the players and touring team members of New Zealand'd first Segway Polo team The Pole Blacks: Rod Dury (CEO Xero, Aftermail), Seeby Woodhouse (founder of Orcon, CEO Green Carbon), Steve Simms (CEO Tomizone), Andrew Somerville (Voyager, Biggie, and of course The Beer Festival) and technology writer Peter Griffen (ex-NZ Herald, Science Media Centre). And of course Segway Polo has been a fixture at MORGO since 2007 - the annual get-together by the who's who local technology entrepreneurs (this event has showcased the launch of inventions such as the Martin Jet Pack, Yike Bike and the REX Exoskeleton).
Philip Bendall - managing director of Segway NZ and captain of The Pole Blacks - says "If Polo is the sport of Kings, then Segway PT Polo is the sport of technology Kings."
Check out this 30 second promo by the Stockholm Segway Polo Club - hosts of the Segway Polo World Cup 2012.