Typical for Art Basel, said the source, brushing off complaints. “Less so for tech startups :)” Too bad they missed Demi Moore’s highly gif-able turn on the dance floor next to Lenny Kravitz. Perhaps our partier will have better luck with Tumblr, which is hosting its own Art Basel extravaganza tonight.

(Photo: NYMag)

Ball So Hard Venture capitalists have certainly replaced i-bankers as the finance boyfriend of choice. But does that mean they have as much disposable income? Lerer Ventures and Thrillist cofounder Ben Lerer almost had us fooled on Instagram when he posted a receipt of a $50,000 tip on $251,769 bill at The Dutch, the Soho restaurant that boasts a $19 bagel. Mr. Lerer captioned the image, “dinner was good.” It wasn’t until the next day that he mocked friends for believing he would bro down like that. “dude, that wasn’t actually mine. hahaha. what kind of maniac do you think I am??,” he commented on the photo, adding, “whoevers bill that was is a psycho.”

Sorry, DABA girls. Might want to stick closer to Wall Street.

(Photo: Instagram)

Holiday Cheer There’s been much ado about 3D printed guns and drugs, but we fear there may have been one damning oversight when it comes to the adult industries touched by 3D printing technologies: where are all the sex toys? Luckily our fears were squashed when we saw MESA+ partner Jacob Brody tweet a photo from the 3DEA pop-up shop, a temporary holiday store featuring objects assembled by a Shapeways printer.

Though much merriment was made--the printer was making holiday ornaments for the store’s tree!--there was also a cordoned-off XXX section. “The sign actually says you need to be 18 years or older or accompanied by a guardian, which I think is super funny,” Mr. Brody said. Behold: it was a room of dildos, with one even molded into the shape of a fist. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

(Photo: Jacob Brody, Instagram)

The Lo Down The Hills’ Lo Bosworth is trying to shirk her MTV image and make a name for herself in New York’s startup scene, and rubbing shoulders with Randi Zuckerberg probably doesn’t hurt. Ms. Bosworth Instagrammed a photo of the two of them out for a fancy sushi dinner, along with former CNBC anchorwoman Nicole Lapin. Perhaps Ms. Zuckerberg wants to pick Lo’s brain as to who to cast for the Start-Ups reboot casting in New York?

(Photo: Instagram)

24-Hour Party People It seems Square CEO Jack Dorsey might want to rearrange his medicine cabinet. Earlier this week, just before before midnight California time, he announced to his 2.2 million Twitter followers: "I just mistook NyQuil for mouthwash. Goodnight!" What Mr. Dorsey was doing drinking what he thought was mouthwash is anyone's guess.

Does Not Compute Lots of us get annoying pings from sad, sexy bots just looking for companionship. Most of us just delete and block. Not Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose! He can't resist the chance for a little fun:

Mark Patricof

MESA+, a four-year old venture arm of the investment bank and strategic advisory firm MESA Global, is launching a $10 million venture fund today for seed stage and Series A investments. The fund will be allocated towards companies in consumer Internet, digital content, advertising, marketing, and commerce and focus on investments in New York, from the Mesa+'s Union Square headquarters.

"Since its inception, MESA has worked hard to connect startups with our network in the media and entertainment world," the company said in a press release, noting that, "we are a startup ourselves." The firm has ballooned from four people to more than 25, including its three partners: Jacob Brody, Andrew Montgomery, and Mark Patricof.

Mr. Brody, a fixture in the city's startup scene, is a mentor at the Entrepreneurs Roundtable accelerator and on the advisory board of Livelyhoods, a non-profit that empowers impoverished children in Africa by training them to become direct sales reps. Mr. Montgomery is also a VP at MESA Global, where he's worked on financing and M&A deals with clients like Blue Man Group, Interpublic Group, and Fantasy Sports Ventures.

Mr. Patricof, son of long-time venture capitalist (and one-time runway model!) Alan Patricof, is also a managing partner at MESA Global. He cofounded <kpe>, leading clients like CBS, Sony, and Viacom toward the transition to digital. He started his career at Creative Artists Agency and was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

In a statement about the fund, Mr. Patricof noted the firm's crossover appeal between tech, media, and entertainment: "These industries have increasingly become intertwined; the complex relationship between these industries has made it difficult for many entrepreneurs to build their businesses."

In the press release, MESA+ also offered some details about the fund as well as its frequent co-investors:

MESA+ expects to invest in 50 to 70 companies alongside high quality co-investment partners. We are off to a great start having already invested in 7 companies in New York and California alongside funds including Lerer Ventures, Google Ventures, IA Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, True Ventures, Floodgate and Betaworks. We are able to invest globally, however our focus will be on the New York market where MESA has a hometown footprint. MESA+ will not lead investment rounds or take board seats, but we will be a trusted partner to our portfolio companies by providing recruiting assistance, strategic advice, PR and business development opportunities.

MESA+ has an impressive group of limited partners that fit well with its investment focus on digital media, including Conde Nast, Saban Capital, and Sony Music. The fund's LP advisory committee includes Andrew Siegel, senior VP of strategy and corporate development at Advance Publications, parent company to both Conde Nast and Reddit, as well as Jonathan Miller, News Corp's former chief digital officer. For its startup bona fides, that list of advisors also includes Dan Maccarone, cofounder and CEO at Charming Robot and cofounder at Hard Candy Shell, which designed the original UX for Hulu, Foursquare, Rent the Runway and Jetsetter.

Jacob Brody—entrepreneur and former reporter for VentureBeat—is heading to boutique investment bank Mesa as the new head of Business and Community Development. That's a fancy way of saying digital A&R, which means Brody won't have to change much about his daily routine. "My job is to augment Mesa's connections in the digital world so that we can find great companies and help them build their businesses before other investment banks even know about them," said Brody.

The new position is a reflection of the boom in New York's tech scene. "There have been a wave of new seed funds and that means a lot more activity to keep an eye on," said Mark Patricof, a managing partner at Mesa. "Jacob is an entrepreneur, so he's empathetic to young companies. He can naviagte their networks and create an ongoing dialouge with founders."

Brody will offer his services free of charge to promising start-ups. "I'm out there helping these companies with biz dev, with PR, with product. If I like and believe in an entrepreneur, I'm going to help them build their business anyway I can," Brody told The Observer.

It's a similar idea to the entrepreneur in residence, a point man who can speak the start-up's language. "When these companies become more mature and start looking for banking relationships, we’ll be in a good position," said Patricof.

Brody will continue to work on his company, the non-profit Standard Start, and plans to launch a version 2.0 soon. In the meantime, he'll be getting up a little earlier in the morning and enjoying a few perks rare in the start-up world. "I love health insurance," Brody told The Observer.

bpopper [at] observer.com | @benpopper