If you have an original idea / business model / startup to kick off on the web, but feel short in cash or resources, then the perfect way for you to nail down a potential partner are OpenCoffee format meetups, which are now going to take place in Riga too.

That goes to investors as well - now you have an opportunity, in a totally informal setting, to consider the ideas while sipping coffee with their authors and negotiating on a potential partnership.

OpenCoffee welcomes all industry professionals as well, those who care about online presence of their business and would like to brainstorm on fresh ideas or just meet the thinkers alike.

Since the start of the last year, when first OpenCoffee meetup was held in London, such format meetings regularly take place all around the world. A few months ago I had a chance to visit the OpenCoffee in Tallinn, together with Maxim and Evgeny. There was very friendly atmosphere reigning in there, enterpreneurs were present, as well as people representing future and ongoing internet services (Skype, for instance), plus some bloggers and even a college professor. And last week, I heard through the grapevine that AlexR is getting the idea of OpenCoffee in Latvia through, which of course is extremely cool and hopefully this movement will become a tradition around here.

The OpenCoffee concept is as easy as it gets: in a previously agreed place, where good coffee and free Wi-Fi should be both a yes, on a previously agreed time, entrepreneurs, investors and all those who think they need to be there, are gathering. Usually, the place is a permanent venue, the time is also scheduled for no change (for example, each Thursday 10 - 12 @ Starbucks Elizabetes St.). It’s not important who comes, perhaps some days there ain’t gonna be anyone coming - people are just need to know that if they wanna meet, the place is here and the time is now. If you don’t make it this time - it’s not the end of the world! You’ll make it next time! That’s why these meetups should be regular. Maybe, if meeting each week for Latvia would be too frequently, then it could be, say, first Thursday of each month.

At this moment, the introduction meetup of Latvian OpenCoffee Club is scheduled for June 5 this year. As the time and venue are still discussable, I’ma vote for 10 AM. I truly believe that this type of gatherings will be way more serious and productive if we throw them up in the mornings, in spite of just the next one bloggers’ “after work” beer drinking evening. After all we are talking “work” here, aren’t we? The SunSet Bar seems to be OK, if not one thing - during the fall/winter off-season it’s not gonna be open in the mornings, and there’s actually no.. “good coffee” in there =) This can be lived with though, but those who know more than two types of coffee (black and white) will surely understand me.

Alrightie, so meet y’all soon, at the OpenCoffee!

For the first meetup, to increase the attendance and interest, there is a topic set up: “The Web 2.0 Evolution or Where is the Web Rolling?”, as well as a visual presentation of a new project to be launched on Latvian market will be held.