Schmoozing and Boozing

Seattlest is still buzzing after the wonderful Redfin-sponsored Techcrunch meetup a few weeks ago (what can we say, free pizza goes a long way). That said, we had tempered expectations regarding Tuesday's (also Redfin-sponsored) nPost networking event, but found ourselves happily surprised by how enjoyable this pure networking gathering turned out to be.

nPost is a relatively new Seattle entreprenurial site. Based primarily around interviews, the site strives to provide its readers with a variety of perspectives from power players at both new and more established companies, pulling from their various experiences. How do you handle a bubble bursting? How do you manage extraordinary growth? What about bankruptcy and restructuring? The various interviews touch on these areas as well as others. Content-wise, the site is looking to expand its reach, and its regional meetup focus is looking to expand as well.

Upon entry into the Great Nabob, Seattlest had a bit of hesitation. There were more than a few button-downs in the room, all with nametags sporting their various affiliations. Schmooze-central. Turns out that wasn't quite the case, as the first pair we saw introduced themselves before informing us of the various fermented hops offerings, of which they had already partaken a share. Schmoozing is dull and leaves us watching people's brains chug away as to how best use us as a resource, but schmoozing and boozing is an entirely different beast.

Making our way across the room where the NBA Finals were on display, we ran into two individuals from startup Peppers and Pollywogs, a locally-based children's party-planning resource website. After the requisite introductions, conversation quickly moved to travel, mass transit, music (Seattlest heartily recommended NOMO's latest release) and restaurants (Tamarind Tree is now on our list of places to check out). The sprawling, natural flow of the conversation was hardly a testament to our communication abilities (we're socially stunted at best), but was a result of the relaxed atmosphere, a far departure from our initial impression. Later conversations with the pair behind Web 2.0-watchers Jay and Silent Rob were a bit more geek-centric, but they remained pressure free, and dare we say, enjoyable.

It's possible that Seattlest has had an unfair perception of how networking events are supposed to work. That might be true, but Seattlest thinks that we've just been lucky thus far. nPost's meetups strike a fine balance between being social and professional events, making them useful in both contexts. They're organized via nPost's mailing list, and we would heartily recommend them (and the list) to anyone interested in what's going on with the Seattle startup landscape.