London tech mentoring – time to put your money where your mouth is :) lunches for new to London folks

I was having a chat with the lovely Jordan Hatch at GDS earlier this week, and realised that even with all our events going on in the developer space, there aren’t (m)any that actually help technologists who’ve come to London find social friends to hang out with.

I remember when I came to London as a junior developer for UpMyStreet (back when it was super cool) – the first 6 months in London were some of the loneliest in my life.  Watching everyone hang out in their cliques and close friends groups made me realise how much work I’d have to put in to break into the scene.  On top of that, I didn’t feel very clever – everyone seemed to do so many brilliant things, and there was I: twenty, first London job, and not enough money to buy the rounds of vodka redbulls everyone insisted on buying at the time.  Add this all up, and it meant I’d make my excuses and go home to a crappy place on the outskirts of London, as I hadn’t a clue where I should be living, even! 🙂  Don’t worry though, as you can see, it all worked out after a few months 😉

Here’s what I propose:

I will organise and run a monthly lunch event for technologists (creative, developer, product managers, I don’t mind! it’s meant to be inclusive!) new to London.  This may later become a mix of lunch and evening events, when I’m allowed out a bit more #newishmum.

I want old London hasbeens like me to invite a new to London technologist along, and buy their lunch.  It won’t be more than £15.  You can bring someone you know (maybe it’s the new office junior?), or ask on Twitter if anyone in your network is a new Londoner technologist type looking to increase their social life.  For at least that lunchtime, if not more (your choice) you will let them know what events are cool, which bars are good or shit, where the best dimsum is, and any other stuff that might help them get an idea of our London.

Also, if you’re a mentor/buyer with no newbie, let me know.  If you’re a newbie with no buyer, let me know.  I’ll act as a match maker.

Lunches will be about 10 people big to start with (5 newbies, 5 old dames/dukes), and I’ll take a view on whether that increases after the first one’s done.  I’ll be doing it somewhere in Soho first, then a second one in Shoreditch.

Please let me know if you’re keen by email.

Also, what on Earth should we call them? 🙂 – Zelda Rhiando has coined the term noobytes and I love it. So, henceforth the #noobytes sessions!

EDIT:

So far we have the following mentors for the first lunch(es) [links to follow when I have a mo]:

• James Stewart asking Jordan Hatch
• Thayer Prime asking Dafydd Vaughan
• Zelda Rhiando to be match made
• Stephen Fulljames to be match made
• Paul Clarke to be match made
• Chris Thorpe to be match made
• Sam Michel TBC on bringing or match making
• Katy Beale to be match made