Key Takeaways from BusinessDen’s “Den.X” Event 

Networking has become one of the most pivotal and integral tools for driving business growth and success across all companies and industries. Zeroing in on the field of public relations, industry networking is paramount to creating new opportunities with potential clients, boosting company reputation and growth, expanding your professional network, fostering and maintaining strong existing connections and deepening your knowledge on your industry of focus. 

Having attended college at The University of Denver, making Denver my home for several years, I moved back to New York City to join Marino as a member of the firm’s Real Estate & Property Innovation team. I joined as an Assistant Account Executive and have risen to become a Vice President, having the privilege of working with fantastic colleagues and prominent real estate and construction brands in a city with a vastly different day-to-day lifestyle. While I love New York City, I missed Denver, my friends and just the overall way of life. In 2023, I was fortunate to have the opportunity return to Denver to split my time between there and New York City, which has provided an unparalleled and unique opportunity to experience the working nuances between the two cities. 

Recently, BusinessDen, a primary and prominent business media outlet in Denver rolled out its “DenX Golf Club” networking series. Hosted at Hangar Club and with a specific focus on building connection and camaraderie among Denver’s women in business, the networking series centers around a shared experience – a golf lesson. This event made me realize, and further appreciate the differences between the two cities, prompting me to share my thoughts and key takeaways to networking in Denver vs. New York City: 

Media Outlet Hosted 

Rather than being hosted by a business or real estate organization that is often only accessible to its members, a regional business media outlet hosted the event, opening access to any professional in the community interested in participating. With media outlets being the more well-known entities across a given region, it led to a larger group in attendance and reach in garnering awareness for the event. For those working in public relations, this element provided an even further benefit given it was attended by select outlet reporters, which sparked new reporter connections and insight into the storylines they have in the works and the area trends they are currently seeing.  

Networking Centered Around Activity 

Breaking the ice and starting conversations at the start of a networking event can be intimidating when the setup of the event doesn’t encourage collaboration and conversation. Centering a networking session around a shared group activity (golf in this case) that you know will take place when signing up and walking in automatically creates a common ground and shared topic among all participants, which makes conversation starting a more seamless experience. 

Attended by Professional Across a Range of Industries 

With the event being hosted by a business media outlet, it drew in a group of professionals within the realm of industry you are currently working within and beyond, which made the element of expertise sharing and intaking all the broader, allowing for the dots to be connected across business sectors more so than usual.   

Tailored to Meet the Interests of the Region 

One of the most largely revered states in the U.S. for outdoor sports and activity, the lifestyle in Colorado is active, with golf serving as one of the most popular activities from Spring-Fall. The state encompasses a high volume of golf courses and clubs across the Denver metro region and throughout the mountains, which makes the sport widely accessible to those residing across Colorado. Given that, tailoring an event that serves a direct interest of the population boosted both engagement and attendance.