The Thursday night that turned strangers from 75+ companies into one crowd

The goal

Ask anyone at the office about their Friday evening, and the answer is rarely “drinks with work”. Friday is when the weekend starts. People have dinners booked, trips planned and friends waiting.

Thursday is different. The week is almost done, the mood is lighter, and nobody is rushing off anywhere. It’s the one evening when the whole team can say yes.

That’s where OffDuty Afterwork began. It’s our flagship event, and we built it around two goals.

The first is for teams. We wanted colleagues to get to know each other beyond their job titles. When a company gives its people room to connect, you feel it back at the office: more trust, better teamwork, and the results follow.

The second is for young professionals. We wanted a place where they could meet people from other companies who share their interests. A bigger network is good for your career, and just as good for your life outside work. Especially in Amsterdam, where so many people arrive from abroad and build their circle from scratch.

What we did

OffDuty started as a blank page. We gave it a name, a logo and a concept, then created everything around it: the social media content, the landing page, the ticketing page, the flyers and the posters.

But we didn’t want to promote it only from behind a screen. So we walked the Houthavens area in Amsterdam, office by office, with flyers and posters in hand, and invited people in person. That gave the event a personal touch before the first song played.

For the music, we played a set ourselves and booked more DJs, giving emerging talents the chance to perform in front of a big crowd. Tacos Norte took care of the Mexican food. And we captured the whole night in photos and an aftermovie.

How it went

On Thursday 27 November 2025, 100+ young professionals from 75+ companies walked into Yellow House Amsterdam. They danced, they ate delicious food, and they connected with people they had never met before.

By the end of the night, most of them were asking the same question: when is the next one?

They also told us what they valued most: a local place to go after work on a Thursday, different from the typical bar or the tourist options the city offers.

The result: better connections at work, and new ones outside it.