The ONLE Story
The first ONLE meeting had 18 visitors.
17 of them became members right then and there!
But our story started years before that meeting.
At another networking meeting, back in 2014, James and Kelly met for the first time. They went into it looking for business relationships. They found in each other life partners instead.
After getting married, they started a web design business. Because they’ve always been people-centred, their work led them back to the forum that first brought them together. Networking.
James and Kelly West, founders of ONLE Networking
And while they’d undoubtedly sing its praises (they found love through it, after all!), they had to wrestle with the ugly underbelly of networking.
The forced referrals brought no real results.
The category mapping made members impersonal.
The obligations made it a drag and the repetitive meetings felt like a waste of time.
But they knew.
They knew there was more to networking than this. They’d built businesses that way.
By connecting with people who like people.
By building relationships that became results.
By showing up authentically, and making sales without selling.
So they asked themselves: could they take the elements of networking that had given them business, support and friendship - while removing the parts that get in the way of their sanity?
And so they did:
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ONLE hit the 200-member mark.
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ONLE started online meetings to help its members grow their community nationally and internationally.
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When the world went into lockdown, ONLE embraced online networking boldly. It was never a stop-gap for us.
We studied and we improved. We focused on delivering support and value.
Because of this success, ONLE became the first network to ‘flip’ the usual way of networking by becoming an online network.
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In 2022, ONLE launched ONLE New York.
Many businesses were already working globally. The only element lacking was a central forum to meet like-minded people abroad.
So, why New York? As well as being one of the world’s great business hubs, New York is also the place where Kelly and James got married.
This proppeled UK businesses to grow, while connecting the practical and personal elements of business that ONLE thrives on.
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As evidence that ONLE had broken the traditionally tiny reach of networking, in 2023 a new meeting was added.
This was another hub for US members to connect with each other (and cros the atlantic). In addition to ONLE Atlanta, in June, ONLE exceeded 350 members.
ONLE Recognition
The ones who make it all happen
Kelly West
ONLE Co-Founder
James West
ONLE Co-Founder
Kierney Frampton
Member Success Manager
A few As to your Qs.
We understand ONLE’s way of networking is still new. That might bring about a load of questions. Are we ever going to have in-person meetings again? What’s included in a membership? Can I visit before joining?
Spoiler on that last one: Yes!
What it’s like to be part of ONLE,
in Bernie Wales’ words:
The members of ONLE have a really helpful attitude towards each other.
Sensible, timely, and useful referrals follow ... which leads to more business, if you do your bit correctly.