"First Tuesday is the global meeting place and market place for start-ups."
First Tuesday was founded in London, England in October 1998 as a place for start-up companies (predominantly high tech companies,) entrepreneurs, backers and advisors to get together and network. The idea is that a meeting is held on the first Tuesday (hence the name) of every month at a bar in your local city and you can go and make contacts in the world of business, get advice and maybe even get funding for your dotcom idea!
When you turn up at the bar you get given a red dot if you're an investor, a yellow dot if you're a professional service provider or a green dot if you're an entrepreneur, and then the madness begins. What follows can be a little bewildering at first, but basically it's a chance to meet people in the same boat as you, and the people that you're looking to do deals with.
People have become rich by meeting investors at FT meetings and selling their dotcom idea to them by the gift of their well-rehearsed elevator pitch. The events do serve as a good forum for meeting all sorts of people, even if you don't always end up with the promise of an investment.
Since 1998, FT has grown and now has regular meetings in over 80 cities worldwide, providing the same relaxed networking atmosphere.