What better environment to network, make new contacts and talk business than by the pool of a luxury resort? Last week, we were lucky enough to take part in Les Big Boss, a networking event for the French business community, held in Marrakech.

Over three days at the Palmeraie Palace, La Big Boss Summer Edition brought together more than 600 people from the French-speaking business world. Our Chief Operating Officer, Séverine Thomazo, and Country Manager for France, Stéphane Boulissière, represented DCMN at the event.

The program combined networking events with plenty of fun activities including dinner in the desert, sightseeing and even speed dating. The whole purpose was to serve as a meeting point for the ‘big bosses’ from the French digital scene and the sponsors or providers with something to offer them.

And unsurprisingly, in the 40 degree-plus Moroccan heat, many of these business meetings took place in the comfortable surrounds of the resort’s pool.

For Stéphane, the highlight of the event was the speed dating session on Friday, in which 350 digital leaders (the ‘big bosses’) were matched with 102 providers, of which DCMN was one.

Séverine and Stéphane at Les Big Boss in Marrakech.

Not unlike a usual speed dating session, we had seven minutes to pitch our company and convince a potential partner of a good match. Each digital leader agreed to meet at least 14 providers, resulting in about 4900 meetings – the equivalent of nine months’ worth of appointments.

“We had a bit of fear about this speed dating session because the idea of doing all these pitches in two hours, we thought it would be so difficult. But there was such a tremendous amount of energy in the room and Séverine and I had a lot of fun,” Stéphane says.

“In the end, we made a lot of very good connections. The kind of contacts it makes months to make usually, you do it in three days at La Big Boss.”