company-cultureThis may require a bit of backstory, so bear with me. I work for a very small company (less than 10 people) in an industry that is small but growing in our city. My company used to be around 30 people, but due to a very large client going under, they were forced to lay off more than half of them. Some of those people started their own company, doing similar things to us (digital media and stuff). They are also very small like us. Two years later, they are doing fine. We are now 2 separate entities, and possibly competitors. To my knowledge, there are no “hard feelings” between the owners.
In addition to this, many of my co-workers and employees at the 2nd place went to school together and a few of us are good friends. We talk about work together and how our bosses are handling things (without breaking NDAs). We know eachother’s companies pretty well.
I want to have a get-together between the two companies to facilitate good relations and help grow the industry in the city together. I can think of a few possible problems, such as NDA’s being inadvertently broken and the ever present uneasiness of both companies being competitors.
Is it ever a good idea to try and grow two companies together, or am I better off just making friends and having get-togethers apart from work?
Competition can sometimes be healthy in growing an industry and showing your customers that they have options, and let them choose the option that suits them best.
As @voxwoman pointed, it may be a good idea to do something like an industry event (a conference of sorts) that will bring together customers, prospective customers, this other company, and other related professionals. You can then showcase your work and let others showcase theirs, in a bid to impress the customers/prospects.
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