London’s Mermaid Theatre was the stage last week for a successful record attempt for the most people attending a business speed networking event.

Organised by Entrevo, a UK-based company that helps entrepreneurs and leaders to build global small businesses, the attempt saw a total of 487 participants shaking hands and making new contacts.

The record-breaking activity formed part of the company’s Entrepreneur Brand Accelerator conference, a promotional event for Entrevo’s Key Person of Influence personal brand business coaching system.

As well as providing entertainment for attendees, the record attempt also proved a perfect way of illustrating some of the key goals of Entrevo’s coaching programme.

Entrevo’s promotional video for the attempt

Under the rules for the record, each networking participant was required to speak with 20 other attendees, with each ‘network’ needing to last for a minimum of three minutes.

Each participant was also required to keep a log book to confirm who they had met.

The attempt took place between a series of lectures offered by leading business experts such as Dale Murray CBE, Julia Langkraehr and, Nic Rixon, with the day’s keynote speech delivered by Dr Vince Cable, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The attempt was the brainchild of Entrevo CEO, Darshana Ubl, who was delighted with the outcome.

Upon confirmation of the record, Darshana said: “I couldn’t have done this without the help of my wonderful teams, plus all the stewards and ushers. There are many other people I want to thank. I wish I could get all 600 of you up on stage. I want to congratulate you all. It’s not my personal victory or Entrevo’s victory – it’s for each and every one of us.

“It’s been a dream for a long while to achieve a Guinness World Records title. It involved a lot of planning and patience, so we were thrilled to receive the accolade.”

Entrepreneur and author Daniel Priestley, who co-founded Entrevo said, “This achievement is a total credit to Darshana and the team who drove this challenge all the way. Darshana doesn't just like the challenge of running a 600 person event, she has to spice things up with a Guinness World Records record attempt. What a woman!”