As so often happens once wine begins to flow, the talk turned to relationships. Phone numbers were exchanged, plans made, partnerships suggested.
But romance wasn't the goal at Wednesday night's wine tasting in Canton. Bettering business was.
More than 100 people from the region's tech companies - members of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council, known as GBTC - paid $20 apiece to sip vino (and the occasional beer) and swap information. They came with high hopes that the mixing and mingling would land them new clients, new contracts and maybe even new employees.
"It's a low-risk opportunity for people to network without feeling like they're on the spot, or have to perform, so to speak," said Hillel Glazer, chief executive of Baltimore's Entinex Inc., who describes himself as "the consummate tech geek."
Most people get work through social connections, according to statistics quoted by the U.S. Department of Labor. Some of those bonds come about through happenstance - chance meetings at random places.
But many more are the result of organized networking events.
In Maryland, at least a dozen business-development groups offer such arranged gatherings - some just for members, some not. And while many of the meetings fall into the more traditional trade show or expert speaker categories, plenty of them are less formal and more fun - from Women in Bio's 5K runs to the Anne Arundel Tech Council's "BBQ on the Bay" expo that was held yesterday.
"Businesses get created because of relationships, so it's critical to get in touch and get to know as many people as you can," said Donald C. Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, which has been known to sponsor a happy hour or two. Fry puts the networking onus not on the event organizer, but on the individual.
Less pressure
"It's one thing to just get to meet people and collect business cards," he said. "It takes a different skill to take that connection and actually turn that into a potential business contact or relationship."
Developing deals is typically a high-pressure situation, which is why many said they appreciate the GBTC's seasonal wine tastings.
Started five years ago, some say the events make networking easy. The environment is relaxed, the wine not bad and the most important choice often between red or white.
"The wine loosens you up a bit," Jon Byrd, a founder of IT-consulting firm The Seva Group, said in a telephone interview. About three years ago, one of the wine tastings helped him land one of his top clients, venture capital company New Enterprise Associates, which has offices in Baltimore.
"It makes it a more casual kind of networking event. The conversation flows a little better, it's not as stiff," Byrd said.
That's helped the tasting events build a following. They're now considered among the best networking opportunities the city has to offer; Baltimore Magazine voted them so in 2005.
At Wednesday evening's two-hour wine tasting, held at the Emerging Technology Center business incubator, men and women still dressed in work clothes toured the room, often clutching business cards in one hand and empty wine glasses in the other.
To fill up, they had to approach one of 10 "pouring" stations, where host companies had set up literature, displayed freebie giveaways (cell phone squeegees, pilsner glasses, chocolates) and - of course - wine. Each pourer paid $350 for the privilege, which pretty much guarantees conversation with attendees and the chance to pitch your business.
That makes it a competitive position to hold, with companies only allowed to do so once a year to give more businesses a chance to experience it. When the e-mailed quarterly call goes out for pourers, companies have to act quick.
"If you don't respond to the e-mail within five minutes, you're wait-listed," said Brian Razzaque, president of Baltimore's Vision Multimedia Technologies. He was serving up a pinot gris this week, his company's third time pouring. At the end of the evening, he said, he had three meetings arranged with potential clients and a half-dozen set up with prospective partners.
Over at Exponential Storage's table, Wick Keating and Joel Sachs were presiding over a Spanish red and a plate of chorizo. Their company profile sheet said the Annapolis business offered "products for storing, protecting and delivering digital content."
In the last few minutes before the event kicked off at 5:30, the two men - GBTC tasting first timers - scrambled to finish setting up, pausing only to announce they had no time to talk. But a half-hour later, they were noticeably more at ease. And Chief Executive Officer Keating declared the event "already worthwhile" with potential clients and contractors identified.
"Business always comes out of it; if it's not business, you get a referral or contact that leads to business," said Susan McKew, a senior account executive with the Baltimore offices of communications provider Paetec, which was serving up Hocus Pocus beer.
Five-figure deals
At a tasting last year, Ellicott City's Octave Technology met four interested venture capitalists, three of whom are now in funding discussions with the software company, said business development director Chris Parker.
Hollis Thomases, president of Havre de Grace's WebAdvantage.net, said in an e-mail interview that she has landed everything from "small consulting contracts to large five-figure deals" from the events.
And James A. Nitzberg, who gave away an iPod Shuffle Wednesday at his station, is certain attendance at past events helped him close a deal that had been in the works.
"You meet as many people there in one session as you would probably meet in six months," said Nitzberg, who is president of Timonium's Select Associates, which provides software and services to the legal industry. He said he left Wednesday with a stack of about 40 business cards and some solid leads.
"It's a great networking event," Nitzberg said. "You never know what's going to come out of it."
tricia.bishop@baltsun.com