So just how do you network virtually? Does it work? Is virtual networking a real substitute for in-person events? My answer to questions like these is this: virtual networking is good and getting better, it’s here to stay and people who get comfortable with it will be rewarded with connections that for logistics and efficiency reasons, make virtual an advantage. 

Make no mistake, being in-person is more human and preferable, but think of the events, places and connections you could make if you didn’t have to travel to a destination. All of a sudden, connections can be made with people who were not going to travel an hour for a breakfast meeting or happy hour, only to turn around and travel an hour or two back home. Just like in-person networking, you get out of it what you decide to put in to it.

Your very next, great opportunity to try virtual networking is this Thursday! You can register here for our Delaware Networking Station event. 

Here you will virtually navigate area businesses as if you were walking down the street and visiting businesses of every kind. And, as an added bonus, we will have workshops with top-notch speakers who will address topics like:

Speakers include Phillip Ferraro, Global Head of Client Cybersecurity Training at JPMorgan Chase, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, and Patrick Best, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at WSFS Bank, to name a few. Click here for the agenda and a full list of speakers.

This event will offer you a great chance to both connect with new people and learn from some compelling speakers on very interesting and timely topics!

This week we take a quick look at companies number 25 and 26 on the CNBC Disruptor 50 List for 2020:

Chime: Finding ways to offer consumers easy, quick and cheap access to their money is the focus of a growing number of banking start-ups, but Chime is managing to stand apart from the rest. This so-called challenger bank, based in San Francisco, targets customers with no-fee accounts, free overdrafts and early direct deposits on their paychecks. That formula has led to rapid growth. The company claims 8 million accounts, up from just 1 million in 2018. Learn more >

Dave — shorthand for the ultimate hero in the David vs. Goliath tale — is a banking app designed to eliminate many of the features folks can’t stand about legacy banks. The company started with overdraft fees. For a $1-per-month membership fee, users can access checking accounts with no fees and up to $100 in overdraft protection without fees or interest. Members who sign up for direct deposit also get automated budgeting and the ability to build up their credit scores through the reporting of rent and utility payments to credit bureaus. Dave co-founder and CEO Jason Wilk, who founded three other start-ups and counts Mark Cuban as an early investor, believes consumers should get credit for doing the right thing consistently. Learn more >

Tuesday opens the week with some fascinating social data for 2019. We’ll see nationwide data for real median income, poverty rate, and uninsured rates (health insurance) from last year. On Wednesday, retail sales figures for August are released, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hosts a press conference. The Philly Fed manufacturing index, housing starts, and initial jobless claims are out on Thursday. We wrap up the week on Friday with University of Michigan consumer sentiment index information.

CNBC

Delaware Business Times

Delaware State News