founder

NEW YORK--Thus far, my experience with the Internet Week New York party scene has one of dichotomies. On Wednesday I went from a lively dance floor to a room full of awkward male Kevin Rose groupies. Then, on Thursday, the social agenda involved one event that was impeccably classy and one that was so consciously puerile that it could only have come from CollegeHumor.

The earlier gathering was the latest installment of Founders Club, a series of quarterly events that pull together a bunch of local A-list entrepreneurs with the VCs who fund them and the big-media folks who want … Read more

NEW YORK--A year ago, a handful of local entrepreneurs got together and threw a party called The Founders Club. It took over a private residence, albeit a very upscale one, in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, and was essentially a low-buzz gathering of Gotham tech enthusiasts who wanted to schmooze.

My, how times have changed. Wednesday night marked the fifth occurrence of the semi-sporadic Founders Club parties, and the organizers (most prominently Blip.tv co-founder Dina Kaplan, Paltalk creator Joel Smernoff, and event planner Celia Chen of Notes on a Party) had stepped it up a few notches. This time around, … Read more

A trio of German entrepreneurs-turned-investors may have invested in Facebook, TechCrunch wrote Tuesday.

The European Founders Fund, consisting of thirtysomething brothers Alexander, Marc and Oliver Samwer, has reportedly put out a "very brief press release" explaining that they have invested in the Palo Alto, Calif.-based social-networking site. An exact amount was not disclosed.

The investment firm was not immediately available for comment.

It's no secret that Facebook has been hunting for new investors ever since it was pegged with a whopping $15 billion valuation following Microsoft's famous purchase of a $240 million stake. Some of … Read more

"It's been a year of surreal moments for me," Digg CEO Jay Adelson said to me, "and the big one was when I met M.C. Hammer."

The funny thing is, Hammer himself was standing right next to us. I was talking to Adelson at Tuesday night's edition of the Founders Club, a gathering of NYC-area digital-media and tech folks from both start-ups and major corporations who meet every few months to drink martinis, socialize, and drink more martinis. And before you start thinking about Hammer as a schlocky celebrity guest, keep in mind … Read more

According to an e-mail copied to the CenterNetworks blog, Facebook's much-touted developer grant program may be off to a rocky start. The FBFund initiative is apparently restructuring its application process and is asking that all previous applicants re-submit their materials. Initially, applications were to be submitted via e-mail; now, a submission form is available.

"To make sure that everyone understands the conditions of submitting a grant application, we will not review any materials you have sent via email, and any materials you may have sent have been deleted," the copy-pasted e-mail read. It's apparently to ensure … Read more

Because opening up the site just wasn't enough, apparently: Facebook is branching into a new role as an investor. The company has announced a new program called FBFund to provide grants to developers who are interested in creating applications for the Facebook Platform. FBFund, with cash infused by Facebook investors Accel Partners and the Founders Fund, will start with $10 million and will provide $25,000-$250,000 grants to developers who apply for the program. The fund's investment committee will consist of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, vice president of product marketing and operations Charmath Palihapitaya, and board … Read more

Every few months, a contingent of New York digital media entrepreneurs known as the Founders Club gets together and hosts a mixer for several hundred people to celebrate the start-up spirit of the local tech industry. The end result, as one might imagine, is a mixed bag of "big media," venture capital and finance types, start-up entrepreneurs, and members of the press.

On Tuesday night, the Founders Club threw its third event at the Frank Gehry-designed InterActiveCorp (IAC) building in Manhattan's West Chelsea neighborhood. I've put together a slideshow of some photographs from the event; a … Read more