i had the privilege to participate in and help sponsor the latest (and last for the year) tech cocktail event here in chicago last thursday at john barleycorn in wrigleyville. being that this was my first one, i was a little skeptical about sponsoring an event that i believed to be essentially a social mixer at a bar. when i first arrived (after sweating like a pig carrying my two bags from the red line) i was greeted by one of the founder’s, frank gruber, mother who immediately took care of getting me settled. wow! i know now why tech cocktail runs so smoothly… frank’s mom!

after about 20 minutes of being there, i realized what I have been missing for so long. not only is the social energy addicting, the networking and connections made in the crowded room are worth any business’ time in both participating and sponsoring. i met so many energetic people from small, medium, and large businesses who were both excited and confused about the presence of microsoft there. i quickly mentioned we recently launched a program called bizspark that is really going to jump start the startups looking to build software and services. the founders of tech cocktail, eric olson and frank gruber, allowed me to steal the microphone for a couple minutes to announce bizspark (if you are a startup or looking to promote startups, then run over to the bizspark site to learn more).

but it wasn’t until towards the end of the night that i realized that my message of bizspark did not even need mic time. because the venue is so open and social without any “eyes forward” type presentations, people that were genuinely interested sought me out and asked great questions on how to both join bizspark and become a network partner. i found i was able to really address people’s questions without having to bore people to death with a “eyes forward” type of presentation. luckily, my partner in crime, chris bernard, arrived just in time from making the same announcement at flashpoint academy to help answer questions on the program and announce our phizzpop event. the conversation continues next week as we announce the winners of the phizzpop design challenge at the chicago cultural center. make sure you register today to participate in a kick ass event.

all and all, tech cocktail should be the model on how to invigorate technology discussion in a community. cram about 500 wildly enthusiastic technologists, startups, marketers, socialites, etc. in a room and there is bound to be connections made. tech cocktail is truly living up to their mission: “To amplify the technology signal in under served markets and have fun doing it.”. i just recently joined the online community and I am looking forward to next year and another season of tech cocktail.