Chris Hutchins was laid off in the first week of December after working for consulting company Monitor Group for just nine months.
Casting around for ideas about what to do next, he decided to build an organization to connect other people who were out of work.
The result, LaidOffCamp, offers informal sessions and networking for the unemployed and self-employed.
The first event took place in San Francisco. It’s not much of a moneymaker, but Hutchins is confident it will lead him to his next venture.
“The benefit to me wasn’t necessarily financial as much as the opportunity to meet a lot of people and get experience launching events through the Web,” Hutchins says.
Photo by BusinessWeek.