Notes on a Party once again collaborated with the Founders Club – notably with the indefatigable Dina Kaplan of blip.tv and Dan Allen of Bain Capital Ventures (one of our hosts and sponsors) on the planning of this A-list affair. Here’s the inside scoop…

The event, graciously sponsored by The Walt Disney Group, Steamboat Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Clickable, Savvian and The Ladders, brought out notable guests including Bernard Gershon (Disney/ABC), Alan Patricof (Greycroft Partners), Bob Pittman (Pilot Group), Kevin Ryan (Alley Corp), Nick Denton (Gawker) and Tim Armstrong (Google).

On the start-up side, there was Joseph Varet and Morgan Hertzan of newly acquired lifestyle, broadband television network LX.TV, Lorien Gabel of newly launched digital invitation company pingg.com and Lindsay Campbell of the soon-to-launch new show MobLogic.tv.

Besides the incredible views of Times Square, guests were treated to an elegant menu of hors d’oeuvres created by Williamson Calvert including New York Strip au Poivre on Yukon Gold Potato Gaufrette and Petite Chicken Cordon Bleu with Truffles, Parmacotto and Taleggio.

In addition to the signature drink of Founders Club, the “Classic CEO Martini,” Chopin debuted a fresh, new cocktail called “Etude in Green” made with muddled cucumber, mint, green tea and Chopin vodka. To accent our green cocktail, we placed an arrangement of cymbidium with philodendron leaves wrapping the base by L’Olivier Floral Atelier on each bar.

And, as a fun twist, we set up a wine bar in the spacious industrial freight lift that transported guests up to the studio. If only more entrepreneurs had the opportunity to give their “elevator pitch” over a glass of Pinot Noir, we’re pretty sure more start-ups would be funded.

Check out Caroline McCarthy’s round-up of the event on CNET The Social.

Related Posts: On Stage with Founders Club, Little Me and IAC

Notes on a Party collaborated with Dina Kaplan of Founders Club and NBCU Digital to host a blow-out bash (their last one of the year) for the top entrepreneurs and players in the tech industry. And, let me tell you, the event was anything but your typical meet-up.

THE VENUE: the hallowed halls of SNL

THE HOSTS: Dina Kaplan (blip.tv), Jessica Schell (NBCU Digital), Jason Rapp (IAC), Auren Hoffman (Rapleaf), David Kidder (Clickable), Marc Cenedella (The Ladders), Josh Abramson (CollegeHumor), Joseph Varet (LX.TV), Graham Hill (Treehugger), Joel Smernoff (Paltalk), Daniel Klaus (MusicNation)

THE GUEST LIST: A mix of old guard and young talent (aka “wantrepreneurs”) as well as big media and press (including a few sharp-tongued bloggers)

THE SURPRISE: 80′s popstar, MC Hammer (founder of the upcoming DanceJam.com)

THE SPONSORS: NBCU Digital, Clickable, TheLadders, Bain Capital Ventures, Paltalk and Silverjet

THE DESIGNER DRINKS: Classic CEO Martinis by Chopin Vodka

THE TRENDY MENU: mini-burgers and BBQ chicken wings

THE GIVE-AWAY: Copies of David Kidder’s New York Times bestselling book The Intellectual Devotional and, for one lucky winner, a round trip business class ticket to London on Silverjet.

THE CRASHERS: stuck in the lobby of 30 Rock arguing with the NBC pages

The energy of the event was fueled by just enough industry drama with whispers of funding, launching, acquiring, poaching, and even suing. After a few too many martinis, there may have even been a bit of “canoodling.”

But, it was only fitting that the uber-exclusive venue lifted its velvet ropes to some of tech’s most exclusive – and by invitation only – properties. Representing the elite, members-only category, Joe Robinson, Greg Brody and Sabine Heller of the social networking site, ASMALLWORLD; Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilson of the newly launched, fashion shopping site Gilt.com; and, Scott Galloway of the virtual (millionare) men’s club, Carbon.

For more scoop on Founders Club and industry gossip, check out the following posts by:

Henry Blodget and Peter Kafka of Alley Insider, Caroline McCarthy of CNET, Nicolas Carlson of Valleywag and Thomas Farley of New York Insider.

PHOTO CREDIT: Angus McIntyre

We are excited to announce that Notes on a Party will relaunch today as a new digital media property that celebrates the art of entertaining. Our expanded editorial will cover Events from the Inside Out™ (which is also our snazzy new tag line). Expect daily posts or “notes” on the most talented vendors in New York, cool resources from the Web, original gift ideas and tips on party planning. We’ll bring you behind-the-scenes at some of the most glamorous events in town to show you how it’s done. And, we’ve added a few new featured columns…

Lazy Hostess
Entertaining made simple with a little help from the experts

It’s My Party
Amazing venues for all types of events

Behind-the-Scenes
Inside scoop on VIP parties from talented vendors & celebrity guests

Celia’s List
A peek into the coveted rolodex of a seasoned event planner

Also, we’ve added an Ask Celia button so that you can ask us anything you want about your next party or tell us what you are interested in reading about. The best questions/ideas will be posted each month.

Here’s what you need to know:

Email subscriptions: many of you love getting your “notes” delivered right to your inbox. If you subscribed on the old site, your email will automatically be added to the list for our new weekly newsletter.

Our address has changed: notesonaparty.blogspot.com has been changed to www.notesonaparty.com. Bookmark the new URL for easy reference.

And, finally, a big THANK YOU to our amazing partners Base Design and Mutant Media who worked around the clock on the redesign of the web site and newsletter. We love the fresh, new look and easy navigation and we hope you will too!

Take a look, play around and tell us what you think of the new site!

Seriously, we are not just tooting our own horn here. Given the venue – the new Frank Gehry designed IAC Headquarters on the West Side Highway and the high profile guests in attendance – impressive might be a better word.

The event was for the Founders Club, a group of the top Internet CEOs and entrepreneurs in Silicon Alley who have created an ongoing event series to facilitate deals between start-ups, media companies and venture capitalists.

Dina Kaplan, the COO of blip.tv by day and driving force behind Founders Club by night, let us collaborate on the planning of this event, the third in the series. Naturally, we had to invite our favorite vendors and partners to join us.

Lucid Food, an eco-conscious catering and events company run by Justin Jones and Luisa Shafia, handled the menu of savory and sweet organic treats including smoked trout canapes, wild mushroom tortas and fresh raspberry cheesecake. Elizabeth Ryan designed the modern and architectural arrangements of Japanese fan leaves and small bud vases of white roses.

Chopin Vodka, a Moet Hennessy brand, featured the Classic CEO Martini made with 2oz of chilled potato vodka shaken and served with three (decadent) stuffed olives.

Corcoran Group’s Deanna Kory team previewed their new luxury properties and raffled an iPhone while Silverjet let guests try their luck at winning 2 coveted seats on their new all business class flight to London. The Manhattan based VC Greenhill SAVP rounded out the sponsors.

For me, there were some old clients, friends and familiar faces in the crowd including: Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman of Nerve Media (who publish the amazing online parenting magazine Babble); Graham Hill of Treehugger (just recently acquired by Discovery); Lorien Gabel of Ping Interactive (a soon to be rival to Evite); Margo Spiritus of CSTV Networks; Joseph Varet of LX.TV; Charles Sommer of DoubleAgent; Doug Scott of Ogilvy; Jon Patricof of Tribeca Enterprises; and, Lisa Blau of the health and wellness newsletter Vital Juice.

What was especially thrilling for a young entrepreneur was rubbing shoulders with some of Silicon Alley’s most notable names – Alan Patricof (Greycroft), Esther Dyson (EDventure), Kevin Ryan (formerly of Doubleclick) and Henry Blodget.

For a first event, hosting at IAC was quite the premiere for our little start-up. Although I have to say that we felt quite at home in the hallowed halls of their $100 million glass house.

Let’s just hope Barry Diller feels the same way about us.

For Henry Blodget’s take on the event, check out his post on Silicon Alley Insider.

For a complete slide show, visit Caroline McCarthy’s blog, The Social on CNET.

There are exciting changes happening here at Notes on a Party. Over the past few weeks, we have been busy redesigning and building the new site. It will relaunch in August with new columns, content categories and functionality as well as a weekly newsletter. New features will continue to be added over the next few months. That’s all we’re saying for now but we will be in touch soon with more details. We don’t want to ruin the big surprise!

We did want to take the chance to thank all of you for your (overwhelming) enthusiasm and encouragement so far. All of your comments, questions and thoughts have been very helpful. Keep writing to us via email or preferably by posting a comment for everyone to see. (those reading this note in an email will need to click on the title to go to the site to post a comment)

We are thrilled that you enjoy receiving our notes. We promise to return with more original entertaining ideas and insider tips for all those amazing parties you are planning. Just don’t forget to invite us!

How many New Yorkers do you know that own a blow torch just for crème brûlée? Or, prefer to stay at home on a Saturday night to hand-glue Swarovski crystals to homemade Christmas ornaments?

I mean….seriously? Who has the time?

Don’t get me wrong….we all love Martha. In fact, the whole D-I-Y posse including Katie Brown and Rachel Ray should be applauded. It’s really not as easy as they make it look!

But, don’t fret! You can still be a sophisticated hostess without having any fancy kitchen tools or hours to spend on intricate arts and crafts. We all live jammed-packed lives but it doesn’t mean that our entertaining has to suffer.

The Lazy Hostess will be a column with easy tips and resources for those who want the gourmet experience for their guests but rather not chop their own crudité. I’ll include event planning short-cuts, access to my favorite local shops and the best of the Web that can deliver right to your door. Easy breezy…

Because its much more fun to be the Belle of the Ball than Betty Crocker……

The invitation, the venue, the music, the decor, the flowers, the food…..All of those wonderful details (that have been painstakingly orchestrated) do not make a great event – they simply set the stage. And, with every event, the stage is different.

What makes an event memorable is what happens on that stage. Parties give us unique opportunities to create memories with family, friends or even with strangers.

This photo taken by Ben Watts is from an editorial in Style & Entertaining (New York Times, Spring 2004) and it captures beautifully what I know was a memorable moment. It reminds me of why I love parties and serves as inspiration for my new blog about entertaining and events, Notes on a Party.