Bumble Networking Night at the Hive on Melrose

Last night I headed down to Melrose Ave for a night of networking and fun at the Bumble Hive in LA. The Bumble hive is a popup installation where bumble users can come to network, collaborate or just get in some blogging. It is like a real life version of the Bumble Networking app and the space is super cool too! I loved all the yellow decorations and fun furniture. When I first arrived I grabbed some of the fun multicolored fortune cookies that were placed around the space. They had pink, blue, and yellow! Of course I got plenty of pink and then grabbed a coke from the bar. I had a great time exploring the rest of the space and even played the fun Bumble themed claw game they had which was so retro and cute! Pretty soon the panel of the night started. The Hive has been hosting guests all month and last night they hosted a Women in Sports themed panel with some amazing and accomplished women from across all areas of the sports industry. It was so interesting for me to learn about this industry since I am not too familiar with it but I had a great time. The panel included Lindsey Amstutz CSO of Fox Sports West, Jennifer van Dijck Chief Strategy Officer and VP of Partnerships for the LA Clippers, and Alex Curry, Sports reporter and TV personality. These women talked about what it takes to make it in the Sports world as a woman and all three of them agreed it wasn't easy but definitely possible!

Lindsay told us the story of how she got into the sports industry saying she managed her college basketball team and eventually ended up at Fox through some connections she made there. She didn't always work in sports though and took several years off to become a lawyer before realizing her true passion was sports. She said, "its never too late to follow your dream!"

She also told us about the exciting initiative she has helped launch at Fox Sports called "She is Fox Sports". The group is for women across the Fox Sports brand working all around the country and they organize events with guest speakers as well as give out awards to honor women for their hard work. This new initiative has really helped to bring together her team according to Lindsey and she is so excited to see how they can grow the idea.

Jennifer van Djick also got involved in the sports industry in college and worked hard to break in. She now gets to work on all kinds of partnerships and marketing initiatives for the LA Clippers. She talked about how she loved that her job included pieces of everything from media to business and of course athletics. She is tasked with growing the Clippers fan base and everyone on the panel agreed how important networking was because they had all run into each other many times throughout their careers.

Alex Curry also spoke about the importance of making contacts with everyone you meet. She told the story of her first on camera gig. It actually came about because she was working on set as an assistant when the producer who she'd been talking to during her time on set, asked her if she wanted to be one of the hostesses since they needed one extra person. After that she continued to get small gigs until she got an agent and manager. She said that many people told her she would never make it as a sports reporter because she didn't look the part or have the experience but she proved them all wrong.

It was a all in all a great night and I got some great tips that could apply to any career! I can't wait to see what else the Bumble BeeHive puts on!