Side projects Sant Cugat Network
Past project · 2011 - 2013
Sant Cugat Network
A community connecting foreigners, locals and professionals in Sant Cugat del Vallès.
- Role
- Founder
- Type
- Nonprofit association
- Duration
- April 2011 - January 2013
01The problem
An international city with no place to meet
Sant Cugat had more than 85,000 inhabitants, over 15% of them foreign, and multinationals such as HP. Lots of people from abroad and nowhere to meet the locals.
- Foreigners with no contact with their neighbours
- Professionals in the same city who had never met
- No regular meetup to practise languages
02What I did and how
Community first, structure later
Before spending a single euro I wanted to know whether the idea made sense. So I validated it inside an entrepreneurship programme and started with two simple formats that anyone could try with no commitment.
-
Validate with the Yuzz programme
I pitched the idea to the Yuzz programme run by the City of Sant Cugat. Over six months I studied the viability of the project, and then launched it as a nonprofit association.
- Yuzz
-
Two monthly formats
Informal language exchanges in a bar in the centre to meet people, and networking sessions with a talk by an expert speaker followed by speed networking to make professional contacts.
-
Free to join
The language exchanges were free and acted as the way into the community. Networking had a symbolic fee that already included dinner and a drink.
-
Owned channels
A website with its own mailing list to announce every activity, social media profiles and the local press, which followed the project from the start.
- Mailchimp
What I learned
-
Running the numbers before launch saves you from launching something unsustainable.
-
A free, regular format builds the community; a paid one keeps it going.
-
When people ask for more frequency, the idea works.
03Results
Over 1,200 participants and every session full
More than 1,200 people took part in Sant Cugat Network's activities, and every session was full. The community itself asked to go from one session a month to one a week.
- Growth 1,200+ people took part in the activities
04Media coverage
Media coverage
The local media followed the project from the day the association was set up.
-
Terrassa Digital reports on the language exchanges and events Sant Cugat Network will organise
Read article → -
I launch Sant Cugat Network at a press conference with the town council
Read article → -
Diari de Sant Cugat interviews me about Sant Cugat Network and living here as a foreigner
Read article ↗ -
Televisió Sant Cugat covers the end of the first Yuzz, where I built Sant Cugat Network
Read article →
05The website
What santcugatnetwork.com looked like
I have restored the website with its original design, including networking, language exchanges and news.
See the 2014 website →I like finding the fastest way to test whether an idea works, without burning budget. If you want a second pair of eyes on yours, drop me a line.
Get in touch →No strings attached · I reply myself