First Round Capital pulled off yet another top notch party last night at La Mar on The Embarcadero in San Francisco. Their events always draw the best in the industry not just because their team has connections in nearly every technology segment on both the east and west coasts, but because of their attitude and culture.
Their events are inclusive – after all, where else do you see a VC firm throw a high profile networking event and find a number of their competitors on the guest list? Sure, some of them may be firms they co-invest with, but that’s not the point. They find some of the smartest and most innovative minds in the industry, and they’re really really good at it. For this culture to thrive, it makes sense to continuously surround yourself with other like-minds so magic can happen again and again and again.
The gathering included entrepreneurs like Mitch Kapor and early investors like Ron Conway and Jeff Clavier, as well as respected VCs like David Hornik and David Stern. Blogger Ben Parr was there as were partnership guys from MSN and HBO. Then there were product innovators from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Apple and start-ups across countless sectors including social games, online video, social media, enterprise CRM, analytics, mobile and geo-location based services. Hats off to the First Round Capital team for an incredible bash!
Chris Fralic, Loic Le Meur, Flurry’s Simon Khalaf
Ty Ahmad-Taylor, Kent Lindstrom
Jason Calacanis, Howard Morgan
Thomas Payne, Thor Muller
Andrew Lee, Jam Legend
Ian Eure, Simple Geo and Michael Wyszomierski, Google
Barney Pell, Simeon Simeonov
Chris Poole of Canvas and Matt Weeks
Ed Zsehau, Antonio (@antoniusego) and Mark Goines
Debbie Landa, Ben Parr
KG Charles, Renee Blodgett
Google’s Benjamin Kott
Peter Farago, Kamal Shah
Other industry peeps who showed up included: @joshk @hlmorgan @chrisfralic @robhayes (hosts) @bambi100 @davidhornik @davemcclure @tjsassani @ryanshea12 @mh @mager @sacca @jason @benparr @hirshberg @edzsehau @markgoines @antoniusego @sfly @mattweeks @fanfeedr @tyahma @fotobabble @edanuff @roizen @danielgruneberg @abrams @tommypjr @kentlind @hirshberg @andrewdlee @ronconway @jeff @clevergirl @laughingsquid @jalichandra @voicestar @mkapor @barneyp @jacobyryan @tolles @lindastone and over a hundred others.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
