Business Owners Roundtable | Bellevue Chapter

📢 Please read before RSVP. Building a strong network requires genuine interest in others, active listening, and a willingness to offer help and value in return. We are an ideation focused group, let’s dive in!

🎬 Business Owners Roundtable presents an exciting and unique way of engaging the business community and bringing local industry leaders, of all backgrounds, together. Together we harness wisdom of the crowd to discuss business ideas. Most small business owners and entrepreneurs are tackling very similar challenges around scale, marketing, finding product market fit and acquiring and retaining customers. This roundtable is your forum to connect with others and level up your thinking. We facilitate this discussion as a community service and a passion to solve problems and challenging status-quo in ideation.

🧬 Who is coming:
Those who attend this roundtable include inventor and creators, leading executives, startup founders, and career personalities from the local industry. Networking is optional to build connections, but this space is not meant for sales.

🙋🏼‍♀️ What to bring:
An open mind and curious attitude towards learning and offering your insight. None of us have a chip on the shoulder and are humbled by our individual and collective experiences. We don’t judge your idea or approach and try offering a diverse perspective. Do expect to be challenged with simulating conversations with professionals from a wide background. Share how you can help others and others can help you. This is a safe space to develop ideas, iterate your pitch, and get feedback from real people!

🤝 How we do it:
This is the Bellevue Chapter facilitated at The Capital One Café (Downtown Bellevue), it offers coffee, snacks, and other refreshments and an open free space for casual meetings. The roundtable is not referral focused like most other groups. This event is hosted by Shabrish Menon and run every week on a consistent 90 min schedule. RSVP is needed.

ℹ️ Information:
Roundtable Host: Shabrish Menon
Maximum Participants: 20
Format: Settle in with your coffee/tea/water (10 min). Round-robin Introductions. Include one big idea or challenge you are working on.
Recurrence: Weekly
Day: Wednesday
Time: 10am – 11:30am local time (90 minutes)
Venue: Capital One Café, 400 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA. Find us at the open table on the first floor inside the café.
Parking: Lincoln Square, validation available
Organization: Business Owners Roundtable is an initiative of ThriveHub foundation, a non profit which serves small business community.

✍🏼House Ground Rules👀

1. Purpose: Communicate what the purpose of the event is to you – whether it's for brainstorming ideas, problem solving or product demo (beta testing) or networking. This will guide your approach and expectations.
2. Elevator Pitch: Prepare a concise and compelling introduction about yourself, your business and the problem statement.
3. Research: Familiarize yourself with the event, its organizers, and attendees.
4. Active Listening: Focus on listening and understanding others before promoting your own ideas or business.
5. Questions: Ask thoughtful questions to others and show genuine interest their work and ideas. It naturally leads to insightful connections.
6. Time Management: Manage your time wisely during introduction and be precise when sharing.
7. Flexibility: Be open to spontaneous discussions and ideas that may open new opportunities. This is a safe space for constructive criticism.
8. Personal Branding: Ensure your online presence (e.g., Website, Meetup or LinkedIn profile) reflects your identity. Business cards are useful.
9. Celebrate: Many come to share key milestones they are hitting in their business. Celebrate their success.

📩 Reach the host if you have a question: Shabrish.menon5@gmail.com

🚨Disclaimer For Waiver of Liabilities: When you RSVP "Yes" to this event, please understand that you are responsible for your own decisions, and will hold no one else liable. You agree not to hold the meetup group's organizer, assistant organizers, event organizers, hosts, its sponsors or any other group members responsible for any business or personal decisions that may be made by you at any time before, during or after an event. Your RSVP of "Yes" on the event page or attendance in this event signifies your full understanding and acceptance of the terms of this liability waiver.