When Silicon Valley veteran Peter Pham moved back to Los Angeles a year ago, he noticed the lack of a social scene where tech execs could hobnob and hatch deals.
So Pham, 33, was among the hosts of a Sept. 12 party held in the Santa Monica offices of Internet startup Mahalo.com, which was founded by entrepreneur Jason Calacanis. Among the 200 who noshed and schmoozed: Josh Silverman, chief executive of Skype Technologies; Chris DeWolfe, chief executive of MySpace.com; and Richard Rosenblatt, chief executive of DemandMedia Inc. More than a dozen from Silicon Valley, including Michael Arrington, editor of blog TechCrunch, flew down to attend.
Last week, Pham, who’s chief executive of Internet startup BillShrink.com, said: “I saw a couple people today who were there Friday night and they said they were working on deals already. For me, that made my day.”
Power Bookings
Marcus and Jane Buckingham of Beverly Hills are quickly becoming a power couple. He is to appear on “Today” promoting his book Sept. 23, the day before he is scheduled to appear at Radio City Music Hall at the World Business Forum with Tony Blair, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright. And she is slated to be featured in the November issue of Elle magazine for her insights into teen consumer behavior.
Jane, 39, wrote a book called “Teens Speak Out” when she was just 16 years old, making her a go-to media analyst on teens. Marcus, 42, has written several popular books on corporate management.
But Jane appears to be rubbing off on Marcus because his latest book, “The Truth About You,” focuses on those between the ages of 14 and 26. “I had to hire her to get the type of data I needed to write the book,” he said.
Festive With Film, Fashion
Entertainment lawyer Bob Darwell knows how to work hard and play hard. The partner in the Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton law firm in Century City went to the Toronto International Film Festival a couple of weeks ago to help with the screening of his clients’ films, “The Duchess” and the Che Guevara biographic film “Che.” “Toronto is my favorite film festival,” Darwell said. “It’s not cold like Sundance, or too hot or crowded like Cannes.” While the trip was for work, Darwell also attended several celebrity-studded parties, including one where he mingled with Brad Pitt.
Darwell then immediately traveled to New York Fashion Week. But he didn’t hobnob with designers by night. “I was partied out from Toronto,” Darwell said. “There were four or five of them a night.”
Staff reporters Charles Proctor, Brett Sporich and Alexa Hyland contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
