The Story
My name is Marianna and I’m a sushi addict ...
I launched my own business at the beginning of 2012 and found a lack of networking events where quality people were carefully chosen. I wanted people to mix with others that they might have never met before if it was not for sushi networking. I wanted people to speak about their work and how they needed leads/ideas/connections.
I wanted all of this to happen over platters of sushi and sashimi.
So Sushi Networking was born…first in Cape Town, then in London and Dubai ...connecting people over delicious sushi.
“The organizer, Marianna, has an incredible gift for putting the right people together AND to keep the group small enough so that everyone has a chance to talk to everyone else”
The background - the host, the restaurants, the guests.
Sushi Networking Dinners - for those who love sushi as much as I do. Which is very very much.
But first a little introduction - I'm Marianna Boguslavsky, a digital strategy and marketing specialist with over 12 years of international marketing experience. I’ve lived & worked in Cape Town, Dubai, London, Joburg, Ljubljana, US, & New Zealand.
The first ever sushi networking dinner took place at Sevruga in Cape Town (still one of my favourite sushi haunts back home) back in 2012. Their sushi quality is impeccable, the harbour view is dreamy and there is always a great buzz. My favourite menu item would have to be the salmon roses as the salmon is so lush. I’ve held these sushi networking dinners at other (equally impressive) venues around the world - Beluga & Takumi in Cape Town, Salmontini at the Mall of Emirates in Dubai, along with high up in the sky at Iris Dubai and at the fabulous Sumosan Twiga in West London. Jason from Salmontini was by far one of my favourite sushi venue partners - the man knows how to throw a sumptuous sushi feast. With the most incredible view of Ski Dubai - what a magnificent setting for a networking dinner (sushi & snow slope views make for a surprisingly great dinner combo).
But it’s the guests who make Sushi Networking so special. These dinners are carefully curated business networking dinner events. The guests are almost always a delightful group of people - a mix of entrepreneurs, executives, and business owners. We’ve had some interesting professions in the past - from a MD to a chef (who had worked with Gordon Ramsay!) and everyone in between. We’ve had VCs, analysts, business founders, influencers, sommeliers, management consultants, small business owners, CEOs, agency founders, bankers, and others. Which is what makes it so undeniably special - this melting pot of cultures, industries, personalities and roles - all seated at one table, discussing all sorts of topics over delicious sushi, sashimi, sake and wine.
Does business networking get better than this? I don’t think so.