A while back, we asked you to share your stories of connections built at HubWeek. We think it might help in these difficult times to be reminded of the power in human relationships.
José Ramos arrived at HubWeek 2018 (our flagship fall festival) fully unaware of the global opportunities he would soon encounter. During the event on City Hall Plaza, José had the chance to meet Mario García-Lee and Semin Oh, both of whom came from South Korea.
“I was curious about Mario’s story since he’s a Mexican living and working in South Korea, and I’m a Puerto Rican who at one point lived in Iceland,” José remarked.
HubWeek serves as a meeting ground for not only people but ideas. Mario and Semin both arrived at HubWeek looking to “create connections with Boston-based professionals, companies and institutes.” HubWeek’s immersive experiences celebrating the intersection of art, science, and technology were a big draw for José.
“Mix of tech and art bring(s) new ideas, inspiration, and perspectives that would typically be missing from a tech event,” said José.
Mario, Semin, and José were brought together by one of HubWeek’s networking events. The two partners told José about their startup in Seoul called Lighthouse, which focuses on “educating entrepreneurs in Korea’s relatively young startup scene.” José, a fellow global citizen, connected with the two entrepreneurs on their shared personal experiences. Lucky for the Lighthouse founders, José also had a background and vibrant career in technology and partnership development. Forming relationships had been central to his career for some time, and he knew this could lead to a great opportunity for them all.
The trio’s conversations at HubWeek ultimately led to the collaborative creation of an entrepreneurship hackathon in Seoul, South Korea in January 2019. This was so successful that the partners organized another event in Seoul only two months after. José recruited fellow HubWeek fans, global artists, and HubWeek’s own Director of Arts & Culture at the time to participate as partners.
“(We) got to meet many local artists as well as the young entrepreneurs who participated in the workshop hosted by Lighthouse,” said José.
What makes this story so special is its lasting impact. Not only was the trio able to develop a strong partnership as the result of conversations at HubWeek, but even today, they are still working together on events in South Korea — and hopefully Boston, in the future.
If you have a story of connecting through HubWeek to share, we’d love to hear it. Tell us about the connection you made, whether it was related to business, romance, friendship, or something else entirely.
