Crunched in Boston

Last night Silicon Valley invaded Boylston Alley when the folks from TechCrunch hosted a great bash at The Estate. Sponsored by IDG Ventures Boston, the party attracted a strong crowd of at least 500. That is a pretty good turn-out on a freezing Friday night in mid-November. It was a good mix of younger and older people – students, entrepreneurs, marketers, PR people, VCs and a few reporters and analysts tossed in for good measure. It was a great spot for the party – plenty of room for the tech demos on the main floor, and ample space for the obligatory mingling at the bars and then poker and more networking upstairs. IDGV’s Jeff Bussgang got the crowd fired up with a nice little missive tossed out to our tech brethren on the West Coast. Later Jeff mentioned to us that he kiddingly told Mike Arrington that he viewed the competition between the Boston and Silicon Valley VC and tech community to be comparable to that of the Red Sox-Yankees 100-year rivalry. We all know how that has turned out the past few years with our beloved Sox getting the upper hand despite the Yanks’ ever-growing payroll. Will the Boston VC and tech community see a similar uprising? Hmmm. Let’s wait and see on that one. Good party guys. Do it again in the spring!