Professional networking is weird. Whether it’s a formal networking event (think: name tags and timed conversations with strangers) or “grabbing coffee” with a loose acquaintance, it’s almost always awkward, and it often leads to dead ends.

That’s where Forum comes in. Forum is the most efficient way to build your professional network, all from your smartphone.

First, users tell us about their professional backgrounds and the types of connections they are seeking. Then, Forum’s proprietary algorithm goes to work, using sophisticated data analysis to tailor connections based on users’ specific preferences, needs, and experiences.  Each day users receive suggested profiles, and, like a dating app, they can review them before deciding whether or not to connect. The mutual approval process ensures users only connect with people they actually want to meet. Once you’ve connected, let the meaningful conversations start flowing!

Ultimately, Forum connects users with hyper-targeted recommendations to help them build strong, meaningful and useful professional networks.

Meet The Speaker: 

Naomi Ruchim is CEO and Co-founder of professional networking app, Forum. A self-identified “networking naysayer,” Naomi never enjoyed in-person networking events and found online networking tools cluttered, irrelevant and time consuming. However, during the pandemic, Naomi found a type of networking she did enjoy – romantic matchmaking. After a conversation with her husband (who she met on a dating app), she wondered if dating app technology could be used to improve the professional networking experience. Forum was born. The app launched in early 2022.

In addition to her role at Forum, Naomi is also a freelance journalist with more than a decade of experience in broadcast news. She works as a national correspondent and her stories have appeared on CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX stations across the country.

Naomi began her career as a reporter at local stations in Kansas, Minnesota, Montana and Arizona. While in Tucson, Naomi was one of the first reporters on the scene when Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot outside a grocery store. Naomi also worked as a reporter and anchor in her hometown of Indianapolis, where she received a regional Emmy Award for her reporting. Naomi graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and International Studies.

She lives in New York City with her husband and their young son, Maxwell.