Disruptive. (Photo: YouTube)

If New York Tech Day event co-founder John Peterson had to summarize his event in one word, it would be "massive." And it sounds like he’s not exaggerating, given these stats: there will be 400 startups sprawling across 75,000 square feet that will be judged, scrutinized and questioned by nearly 10,000 attendees.

That’s a big jump in space and number of attendees from last year, an excited Mr. Peterson told Betabeat by phone. The event sprouted from an idea conceived by his business partner Alec Hartman, who decided that there should be a business expo designed specifically for startups. “It came to the point we had to do it,” he said.

Last year’s event was about half the size, but big and successful enough to warrant a second run. Mr. Petersen said Thursday's event will be better organized thanks to the introduction of sections around the companies' focuses (i.e. hardware, fashion), incubators/accelerators (like TechStars), and coworking spaces.

Attendees of the free event will consist of three groups: talent for the companies to recruit from, the press, and investors ranging from angels investors to venture capitalists. Mr. Petersen encourages the startups, which are charged a $485 fee to attend, to use the day as a learning experience.

For many companies, this is their first (and presumably daunting) opportunity to pitch the product in front of the public. It’s the optimal place to receive validation and feedback from event-goers, said Mr. Petersen, who suggests that the companies “bring their A-game" and, if necessary, employ theatrics. He said that last year, a startup named Unroll.me replaced the toilet paper with branded toilet paper, while another company strung up balloons 50 feet into the air.

"We really want to make sure our exhibitors have unlimited ability to be as creative as they want," exclaimed Mr. Peterson.

“We’re giving the resources the startups need to grow,” added Mr. Petersen. “One of the great things we can do at this event is keep it as open to the community as possible. We want as many people to come through and see what’s happening in the tech scene.”

Well, slightly.

You'll still hear how many cities (420) and countries (66) and continents (6) are represented by the 1,700 companies that applied, along with the acceptance rate (0.6 percent), but the emphasis is on the “large market opportunities they are tackling."

That makes sense considering all those predictions that the accelerator bubble is about to burst (and advisements against joining one). The hot trend to emerge from Y Combinator's recent Demo Day, for instance, was trying to make money. 

In a blog post, Managing director Eugene Chung, who was named David Tisch's replacement in January, calls out categories beyond consumer Internet, including "the religion space." What Would Founder Jesus Do?:

"For the first time ever, we have a company tackling the religion space, an underserved yet massive market with incredible opportunities for disruption. Two of the things that Americans care most about are what they drive and what they eat, and we have companies revolutionizing both. The areas our founders are tackling are as varied as optimizing ecommerce to the world of pets. Our companies dream big, tackling the exciting new trends in cutting edge 3D to new ways of experiencing live shows to the quantifying of innovation for every company in the world."

We spotted at least a couple familiar names among the 11 companies selected. There's Plated, a sort of concierge Fresh Direct that lets users select a chef's recipe and then delivers all the ingredients so that all you have to do is cook. We've seen the startup get a shoutout in many a humblebragging Instagram. We also spotted Validation Board, a tool to help companies vet their ideas, which we covered last October.

Here are the rest:

AdYapper: Transparency and analytics to cut wasted ad spend.

Dash Labs: Connected car platform.

FaithStreet: Social outreach platform for faith communities.

Jukely: 2-tap concert concierge.

Klooff: Uniting pet lovers around the world.

Placemeter: Smart in-store sensors capturing customer data.

Sketchfab: Publish, share and embed interactive 3D models.

TriggerMail: Intelligent ecommerce emails.

weeSpring: Community for new parents built around the people they trust most.

This is a guest post from Gary Sharma (aka “The Guy with the Red Tie”), founder and CEO of GarysGuide and proud owner of a whole bunch of black suits, white shirts and, at last count, over 40 red ties. You can reach him at gary [at] garysguide.com.

So last week I did this blog post highlighting The 16 SXSW Parties You Really, Really Don’t Want to Miss. And I got a ton of email from you guys & gals saying a) “Thank you, you’re a life saver!” and b) “We want more, more, MOARRR!”

For the hardcore partier, I’ve put together the ULTIMATE Guide to all the SXSW Parties (a whopping 300+ and counting!). Print this out before your trip and you’re golden, my friend. And as you can see, there’re a ton of events that don’t even require a SXSW badge. 

For the rest of you, here are 16 More SXSW Parties that have the Gary Stamp of Approval. You’re welcome, my little tech monsters! Now go forth and RSVP away. Oh and next week when you're walking around in downtown Austin, if you notice a guy with a big 'fro in a black suit, white shirt and a Red Tie (with ads all over it), come over and say hello!

Btw, I have 2 FREE Passes to the much anticipated Rovio (Angry Birds) Pool Party! :) Its on Mar 11 @ Ashton Austin. The Mighty Eagle will be there (of course). There will be music and BBQ! I hear Rovio may be showcasing something new. Each Pass is good for 1 person + 1 guest. Interested? Apply Here.

I've also been told that there will be #BrilliantBrew Coffee Trucks from-the-future driving around, housing GE's Barista Bots that will print portraits of coffee drinkers into the foam of their latte using face-detection software! Craazzzy huh? You can find them parked on the corner of Trinity & 3rd (Mar 8), outside the Made in NY event (Mar 9), 101 Red River (Mar 10) and 301 E Cesar Chavez (Mar 11).

If you've ever wondered whether you have what it takes to become a performer on Cirque du Soleil (sure, why not), then check out their party on the 15th where their talent scouts will be present. Also, Livefyre's SXSW NewsHub will be curating tweets & photos in real-time from the hottest panels and parties.

And now--drumroll please--16 *MORE* SXSW Parties that you really, really, reeeaally don’t wanna miss… ;)

Mobi + Verizon SXSW Kickoff Party
Lots of food and refreshments, including authentic Austin BBQ, as well as live music with a scenic view!
Thursday (Mar 07), 4 p.m. @ One American Center, 600 Congress Ave, Ste 1600

Sake Bomb Party!
Sake Shot Bar, Ty Ku Premium Sake Tastings, Free Kenichi Appetizers, Beer & Cocktails and Live D.J.
Friday (Mar 08), 10 p.m. @ Kenichi, 419 Colorado St

Happy Hour at the Hackers Hostel, Presented by WeHostels
Happy Hour of handcrafted cocktails and a live jazz band!
Saturday (Mar 09), 5 p.m. @ Firehouse Hostel & Lounge, 605 Brazos St, Ste 100

Awesomest Journalism Party. Ever. III.
Featuring awesome Texas food, awesome Texas beer and an awesome photobooth from SnapFiesta
Saturday (Mar 09), 5 p.m. @ The Palm Door, 401 Sabine St

ff Massive Party
Come meet ff Venture's portfolio companies, founders, & execs. Featuring: live music & an open bar.
Saturday (Mar 09), 6 p.m. @ Empire Automotive, 604 E 7th St

TechStars Conquers SXSW 2013
DJs Fubari (TechStars' own Ari Newman), [Whoop Whoop/Cabin Fever], Part Time Chiller [CHNL - LA], and John Wander [CHNL, Roam Music LA] will be dropping beats all night long!
Saturday (Mar 09), 8 p.m. @ Cedar St Courtyard, 208 West 4th St

House Party!
Featuring DJ Sets by Viceroy with Sean Glass. Sponsored by Dos Equis and Patron XO Cafe. In partnership with Thrillist, Wired, Track, Cameo and small Girls PR!
Saturday (Mar 09), 9 p.m. @ CTC House & Garden, 1102 E Cesar Chavez St

Pop! In & Party with PayPal
Performances by Man Man, The Octopus Project and Belaire. Plus an epic Superhero surprise!
Saturday (Mar 09), 9 p.m. @ Mohawk, 912 Red River St

MRY SXSW Launch Party
2 DJ's, including LA Riots, Food by one of Austin's best, East Side King, Fire Troupe, Ice Louge, Go-Go Dancers, and a few more surprises!
Saturday (Mar 09), 9:30 p.m. @ The Belmont, 305 West 6th St

Gannett Media Lounge #GANNETTLOUNGE
Houndstooth Coffee, Peached Tortilla Breakfast Tacos, Salt Lick BBQ Lunch
Sunday (Mar 10), 9 a.m. @ Hangar Lounge, 318 Colorado St

Livefyre Presents: SXSW13 Fyrebash
3 live acts - Vacationer, (Brooklyn-based) Body Language and The Hood Internet. Open Bar.
Sunday (Mar 10), 8 p.m. @ TenOak, 409 Colorado St

The Crowdtap VIP Party III - The Legendary Cant Miss Party of SXSWi
With White Panda, Radical Something, Little Daylight, VJ Culture and NYC's top DJ Vikas. Open bar and year two of the Battle of Austin's Best Food Trucks!
Sunday (Mar 10), 8:30 p.m. @ Haven, 409 Colorado St

Spotify House
Daily live performances, artist DJ sets, local food truck flavors, ping-pong, photobooth, giveaways and more!
Monday (Mar 11), 12 p.m. @ Spotify House, 1010 E Cesar Chavez

The Barbarian Group + Vimeo present No Way Back
3 stages featuring no less than 15 illustrious band performances, over the top DJ sets + mind melting visuals!
Monday (Mar 11), 6 p.m. @ Mohawk, 912 Red River St

Geeks from Gangnam
Seven startups from Korea will be there. Live musical performances by popular Korean bands Galaxy Express and Goonam. Free drinks and delicious appetizers!
Monday (Mar 11), 6:30 p.m. @ Moonshine Bar & Grill, 303 Red River St

GroupMe Major Rager 3D
Performances by RAC, Tim Sweeney & Viceroy.
Monday (Mar 11), 8 p.m. @ Cedar Street Courtyard, 208 W 4th St

BONUS #1
#Secret_Wine_Party with Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library, Vayner Media and Author of Thank You Economy)
I can’t say when. I can’t say where. But if you follow @garyvee, All shall be clear!

BONUS #2
Conduit Corner will be playing host to a bunch of happy hours (There'll be drinks, backrubs, munchies & much more)! With Internet Week NY & StartOut (Mar 8), Tracx (Mar 9), SF Music Tech (Mar 10), Warner Brothers (Mar 12), BandPage (Mar 13) and Sweet Relief (Mar 13).
Friday (Mar 8) to Wednesday (Mar 13) @ Conduit Corner, E 7th St and N Congress Avenue

BONUS #3
#FEED Flavorpill Sanctuary Pwd By Windows 8
Yoga, cycling, bootcamp, massage, juice w/ CRUNCH, CYC Fitness, BLUEPRINT, KIND Breakfast.
Friday (Mar 9) to Tuesday (Mar 12), 9 a.m. @ AMOA Arthouse @ Jones Center, 700 Congress Ave

BONUS #4
Cats Live Here Happy Hour
And if you like watching cat videos online (and srsly who doesn't), you're gonna like this one.
Animal Planet & the Walker Art Center bring you cat-themed cocktails, live music
 and a first look at the upcoming season of "My Cat From Hell." Plus, catch a sneak peek of the all-new "Henri" video!

Don’t forget – What Happens At SXSW… Is Gonna Be All Over Twitter ;)

San Quentin. (Photo: Wikipedia)

So the tech world likes incubators. Indeed, even as new players enter the field, there are signs that the incubator model is bursting at the seams. Y Combinator downsized to less than 50 companies in its most recent class, from 84 last summer. When 500 Startups decided to establish a base in New York, it opted for a coworking space instead of an incubator. TechStars keeps growing, but its most recently announced additions have been abroad or in more narrowly-defined niches.

Perhaps the surest sign of the incubator model's ubiquity comes from California's San Quentin State Prison, which just graduated its first class from its so-called Last Mile program, which gathers inmates twice a week to discuss startups (they also answer Quora questions:

The latest batch of startup ideas included a fitness app that would motivate drug addicts to exercise, a cardiovascular health organization, a social network for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder, a food waste recycling program, and an e-commerce site for artists in prison.

To be fair, Last Mile founder Chris Redlitz told Reuters he's not looking for his next investment as much as he's hoping to teach inmates about entrepreneurship and bridge the gap between Silicon Valley elites and the hoi polloi. To the former, we'd applaud Mr. Redlitz; on the latter... good luck with that.

Gallery gurl.

Yesterday night, Vine, the video-clip sharing app Twitter acquired back in October, held its launch party at Marquee. Yes, that Marquee. DJs spun above a lighted sign with the hashtag "#party," and users obliged by Vine-ing the experience.

There was the meta-Vine of people Vine-ing at the Vine launch. And, because no one got the memo, an attempt to do the white man's Harlem Shake. Although our favorite had to be a guest appearance from "Gallery Girl" Chantal Chadwick.

Chantal from "Gallery Girls" at last night's Vine party: vine.co/v/b6Egw5WnxTT

— Rex Sorgatz (@fimoculous) February 22, 2013

"I guess the interesting thing was that it wasn't a tech-heavy crowd," one guest told Betabeat. "This sounds strange to say, but it felt more like a cultural event, almost something you would have witnessed in pre-millennial NYC." Hey, if the bubble fits.

As for Vine itself, by February 19 the app--which hung in the top 10 spot for the first week of its existence--had fallen to number 73 in the rankings of free apps, according to AppData. Maybe everyone needs to up their video game?

(Photo: Instagram via TMZ)

Snoop In Startupland According to TMZ, Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight buried the hatchet at AV Club in Los Angeles this week. And who should take credit for the amicable reunion but Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who was photographed in the VIP section along with Snoop, Mr. Knight, and venture capitalist and Uber advisor Shervin Pishevar.

.@uber making peace in the LBC: tmz.com/2013/02/22/sno…#sugeANDsnoop cc/@shervin @snoopdogg

— travis kalanick (@travisk) February 22, 2013

Snoop, who's palled around with Sean Parker and Mark Zuckerberg in the past, is slated to appear at SXSW Interactive next month to promote Leap Motion, a hand gesture controller. Hey Mike Judge, you may want to take a gander at our reporter's notebook.

Type-uhoh Brit Morin, founder of Brit + Co. and wife to Path founder Dave Morin, might have run into a little autocorrect problem. "Catch this week's BritList for your daily dose of dishonesty," she tweeted last week.

Dishonesty? Either that's a typo, or Ms. Morin had some sort of come-to-Jesus moment about the real truth behind the perilous world of crafting.

(Photo: Twitter)

Trivial Pursuit Techstars' former managing director, Dave Tisch, may have recently left the incubator, but that doesn't mean he's resting on his laurels. Mr. Tisch Instagrammed a slightly humblebraggy photo showing some spoils from a recent trip to Dave & Busters. "Successful evening dominating trivia," he captioned the photo, which showed hundreds of arcade tickets flowing out of paper cups. The real question is what he brought with those tickets. Our bet's on the 2006-era iPod.

(Photo: Instagram)

Caught with his pants down New York Times technology writer Nick Bilton is really, really excited for both Google Glass and Apple's rumored iWatch. Like, so excited he doesn't even give a f*ck about pants. Can't say he's not dedicated to his craft.

https://twitter.com/nickbilton/status/304666533190332416

FacePlace Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In hits bookstores in March, and feedback is already trickling out. One reviewer? Mark Zuckerberg, who popped into a Facebook conversation and said, "I think 'radically realistic' is a very good description of what you write in this book." We can't say we're entirely surprised "work harder" as a solution to gender inequality would appeal to a workaholic kid billionaire.

Who needs Zuck's support when you've got Ms. Sandberg's infinite self-confidence, though? She recently appeared in the documentary Makers saying, "I always thought I would run a social movement." Well all righty then!

(Update, 2/26/12) Turns out, there's a little more context to that line about running a social movement, beyond what the New York Times quoted Ms. Sandberg as saying. The Grey Lady has issued a correction:

In a video excerpt, which accompanied the article online, she said: “I always thought I would run a social movement, which meant basically work at a nonprofit. I never thought I’d work in the corporate sector.” She did not merely say, “I always thought I would run a social movement.”

Robot rock Who can resist a little hashtag trolling?

#ifihadglass my individuality would serve the collective. Shields lowered, ready to assimilate... #resistanceisfutile twitter.com/smart/status/3…

— Steve Martocci (@smart) February 20, 2013

Baby, baby, baby A social media mystery to ponder, from Twitter biz dev VP Jana Messerschmidt: "Photos of babies on Facebook annoy me, while Vines of babies make my day. Why is this?" We're going to guess it's the cooing noises.

(Photo: Flickr.com/jeffgun)

Just a day after naming Eugene Chung the successor to David Tisch as New York managing director, TechStars has announced it will buddy up with Excelerate Labs to establish a Chicago foothold. [TechStars]

How safe is Kim Dotcom's new Internet lockbox, Mega? Good question. [The Verge]

Apple TV will reportedly get HBO Go later this year. [Bloomberg]

In addition to attacks on the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal was also infiltrated by Chinese hackers, and they tried to get into Bloomberg News. At this point, we're starting to feel left out. [Wall Street Journal]

Hacking attacks by the Chinese have, in fact, become such an issue that President Obama is reportedly considering "a range of actions" to deal with the problem. [AP]

Mr. Chung (Photo: TechStars)

In December, after reports about an impending downturn in the accelerator boom, some local investors expressed concerns about the future of TechStars New York. Would the next Demo Day be the same parade of oversubscribed startups when much-hyped graduates were still stuck in beta? Were the lessons learned in TechStars enough to prepare companies for life outside the bubble?

David Tisch's departure as managing director added to that uncertainty. But TechStars CEO and founder David Cohen dismissed those worries, pointing to "heavy inbound interest" in the role. Today, he announced his new hire from the 35 candidates interviewed: Eugene Chung, a former venture capitalist with New Enterprise Associates. 

NEA has been making a number of high-profile investments in New York startups, including leading Buzzfeed's recent $19.3 million Series D. Mr. Chung was "instrumental in managing" investments in BuzzFeed and Bedrocket. The Harvard MBA also has experience as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and an energy investor at Warburg Pincus. In a prior stint at Pixar, he programmed an app that automated analysis of a film's story development.

Mr. Chung has already been mentoring TechStars companies, including Poptip, Moveline, Bondsy, Condition One, Classtivity, Wander, and Pickie and wrote about how accelerators were disrupting venture capital for the Harvard Business Review. Not too shabby as far as cover letters go.

Interim managing director Nicole Glaros, who was shipped in from Boulder to take the helm, will co-manage the spring class and be based here for the duration.

Mr. Cohen told Betabeat he expects to announce the companies selected by the end of March, before the program starts on April 2. Interest was at an all-time high, with 1,700 startups applying.

You can read posts about today's announcement from Mr. Cohen, TechStars cofounder Brad Feld, and Mr. Chung himself.

This is a guest post from Gary Sharma (aka “The Guy with the Red Tie”), founder and CEO of GarysGuide and proud owner of a whole bunch of black suits, white shirts and, at last count, over 40 red ties. You can reach him at gary [at] garysguide.com.

Sooooo...it's that time of the year again. SXSW (a.k.a. Spring Break for Geeks) is right around the corner, running March 8 to 12 in Austin, Texas. And you know what that means: Parties, parties 'n more parties!! :) So, once again, we're putting together what we hope will be THE definitive guide to all this year's SXSW Interactive parties. We'll be updating this list regularly, so check back often. And email me if you're organizing an event or a party.

Of course, I'll be at SXSW ... attending all (or as many as humanly possible) of the amazing parties, mixers, networking events, lounges, panels, keynotes, BBQs, nuclear taco nights, concerts, happy hours, karaokes, food trucks, block parties and what-have-you.

So if you can't make it down to Austin this year but still wanna get the word out about your amazing startup / company / firm / service / app / project, you can do so. How, you ask? Well, by sponsoring my Red Tie of course, and covering it in your company's awesome logo stickers and giving me your company's elevator pitch. If you're interested, shoot me an email at gary@garysguide.com for more details.

In the meantime, here's my blog post / highlights from last year's SXSW to give you a little taste of what to expect.

FYI, next week is probably the most exclusive hackathon of the year. Google's Project Glass will be holding a two-day hackathon (February 1 to 2) in New York City that'll allow developers to get an early look at Glass so they can start developing for the platform. Google engineers will be on site to help at any point in the process, and developers will have the opportunity to show off what they’ve been working on.

So, how to score an invite: Your guess is as good as mine! If you were one of the smart ones who shelled out $1,500 for the early access to Google Glass you're on the list. Or you could try pinging Googler Aygul Zagidullina and hope you get lucky! Well, for those of you who don't make it, here's a pic of Sergey Brin sporting his Google Glasses on the subway.

In other news, the NYC EDC is partnering with the Lawrence Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College to create Competition THRIVE, and they're seeking original, innovative strategies and programs that help immigrant entrepreneurs succeed in business. In Round 1, $25,000 will be awarded to five semi-finalists to pilot their program and create a business plan. And in Round 2, $100,000 will be awarded to one grand prize winner to further scale their program. Submission period is February 1 to March 7. For more information, check out the website or email competitionthrive@baruch.cuny.edu.

On January 30, my buddy Haithem is organizing the Lemonade Heroes Yacht Party. It's gonna be a crazy night of dancing, drinking, mixing and mingling--on a yacht.
You'll be getting photographed on a red carpet, and you'll have a shot at an audition for an entrepreneurship TV series and book.

More stuff you don't wanna miss this week: AppNexus Speaker Series (with Fab.com CEO Jason Goldberg) on the 23rd, PandoMonthly Presents (with Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson) on the 24th and Amusemi's 1 Year Anniversary Party+Dinner on the 26th.

Last week my buddy Charlie Todd & the folks at Improv Everywhere organized their twelfth Annual No Pants Subway Ride. Over 4,000 participants showed up. Here's the recap and video. And my friends Jen and Allison are back with another hilarious edition of Blogologues, playing this week on the 24th, 25th and 26th at Under St Marks (and yes, there will be giveaways!).

And now let's see what's going down in the Alley this week...

DUMBO Improvement District Annual Meeting
All members of the DUMBO community are invited to hear the latest on hurricane recovery efforts and learn what's in store for the neighborhood in 2013. The coveted DUMBO "Magic Feather" awards will be given to Rachel Haot (New York's chief digital officer), Susan Feldman (artistic director, St. Ann's Warehouse) and Jerry Hultin (president, NYU-Poly).
Tuesday (Jan. 22), 5 p.m. @ Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street

Next Top Makers: The Business of Design
Join the creators of New York’s Next Top Makers for an evening of education, guidance, and networking. Hear from IDEO storytelling gurus why good design doesn’t always speak for itself, and learn about the role of a designer in a world of 3D printers.
Tuesday (Jan. 22), 7 p.m. @ 3DEA Pop-Up Store @ Eventi Hotel, 835 6th Avenue

The Future of Education #1: New Models for 21st Century Learning
Panelists include Brad Hargreaves (founding partner, General Assembly), Kane Sarhan (cofounder, Enstitute), Juliette LaMontagne (founder & director, Breaker) and Abigail Besdin (head of Skillshare's education team).
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 6:30 p.m. @ Centre For Social Innovation Pop-Up Space, 601 W. 26th Street, #360

AppNexus Speaker Series
Brian O'Kelley (CEO, AppNexus) will host a fireside chat with Jason Goldberg (CEO, Fab.com) and Jared Cluff (VP Marketing, Fab.com).
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 6:30 p.m. @ AppNexus, 28 W. 23rd Street

How to Build Great Communities: Lets Collaborate!
With Sheila Karaszewski (community manager, Airbnb), Tony Bacigalupo (cofounder, New Work City), Andrew Wagner (director & editor-in-chief, Krrb) and James Wahba (cofounder, Projective Space). Moderated by Melissa Young (founder, Let's Collaborate!)
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 7 p.m. @ Projective Space L.E.S., 72 Allen Street

#ArtsTech 4 Year Anniversary Party!
Open Bar with 3 Pernod Absinthe cocktails from 7-8 pm. Variety of grilled panini appetizers. Photobooth by Styleblaster. Tunes by DJ Winslow Porter. Video art by Sabrina Ratte, Mr. Div, Yoshi Sodeoka and Andreas Nicholas Fischer
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 7 p.m. @ The Counting Room, 44 Berry Street, Brooklyn

PandoMonthly Presents
A fireside chat with Chad Dickerson (CEO, Etsy)
Thursday (Jan. 24), 6 p.m. @ Projective L.E.S., 72 Allen Street

dd:COLLECTIVE - The Changing Retail Environment (Presented by Digital DUMBO)
Featured speakers include Philippe von Borries (Co-Founder, Refinery29), Keith George (General Manager, Gilt Man by Gilt Groupe) and Claire Mazur (Co-Founder, Of a Kind).
Thursday (Jan 24), 6:30 p.m. @ Huge, 45 Main St , Ste 220, Brooklyn

Dinner, Cupcakes, Wine & Technology!
Introducing the inaugural NJ Tech Gals meetup!
Thursday (Jan 24), 7 p.m. @ Hoboken Business Center, 50 Harrison Street (2nd Fl), Hoboken

Nike+ Accelerator (powered by TechStars) Recruiting Tour
Join the team from Nike and TechStars to hear about the Nike+ Accelerator. Some local quantified self demos. And the team from Nike will be bringing along some SWAG, including some Nike+ FuelBands!
Thursday (Jan 24), 7 p.m. @ TechStars NYC HQ , 36 Cooper Square, 6th Fl.

Power Breakfast
With Susan Feldman (cofounder, One Kings Lane)
Friday (Jan. 25), 8 a.m. @ Fordham Graduate School of Business, 113 W. 60th Street, 12th Fl.

NYC Mobile Startup Weekend
Where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and buddying entrepreneurs gather together to share ideas, form teams and spend the weekend building and launching a startup.
Friday (Jan. 25), 6 p.m. @ WeWork Soho Lounge, 154 Grand Street

2013 Brooklyn Inventgenuity Festival: Digital By Hand
A popular annual winter celebration of making things for kids and their parents. With public projects and workshops led by Beam Center’s faculty of artists, engineers and big thinkers. This year’s theme: Digital by Hand.
Saturday (Jan. 26), 11 a.m. @ The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen Street

Amusemi 1 Year Anniversary Party + Dinner
Celebrate the anniversary of our first startup dining event. Register for Amusemi to get on the guest list.
Saturday (Jan. 26), 7 p.m. @ TBD

More events on the horizon...
TEDxBroadway: Industry leaders envision the future of Broadway on Jan. 28 @ New World Stages
NYC Gaming January: Demo Night on Jan. 29 @ Microsoft
Brooklyn Tech Meetup with Victoria Brown on Jan. 29 @ Feil Hall, Brooklyn Law School
Lemonade Heroes Yacht Party featuring a chance to Audition for a TV Series! on Jan. 30 @ Hornblower Inifinity
Entrepreneurship in the Beer Industry on Jan. 30 @ Professor Thoms
dd:SOCIAL - 4 Year Anniversary & dd:A-LIST Crowdfunding Launch on Jan. 31 @ The DUMBO Loft
Business Insider Presents: Social Commerce Summit on Feb. 06 @ Pier 60
UX Design and User Experience Optimization Trends on Feb. 06 @ Anchin
Hearst Fashion Hackathon 2013 on Feb. 09 @ Hearst
Social Media Week NY 2013 on Feb. 18 @ Metropolitan Pavilion
AIPAC Technology Division: Launch Event w/Dan Senor on Feb. 27 @ Bloomberg Tower

Until next week. Stay thirsty social, my friends! ;)

LONGREADS

Ultra-Orthodox Jews Take a Hard Line on the Internet at Rally of 40,000 Men (And Me) In which our intrepid reporter sneaks into Citi Field in drag. 

Faith, Hope, and Singularity: Entering the Matrix with New York’s Futurist Set It's the end of the world as we know it, and they feel fine.

The Battle Over Revenge Porn: Can Hunter Moore, the Web’s Vilest Entrepreneur, Be Stopped? Victims and hackers are on the case.

Meet Betabeat's 2012 Tech Insurgents Ambiable agitator Anil Dash, Tumblr's Mad Man Rick Webb, and the merry pranksters of OkFocus.

Jonah Peretti’s Meme Streak Making viral happen inside the factory at BuzzFeed.

THE YEAR IN HEADLINES

Uber Bulldozes Its Way into New York City's Taxi Market Before all the bureaucratic setbacks, CEO Travis Kalanick revealed his grand plan.

Flash Dance! Luxury Flash Sales Sites Regroup After Layoffs Can Gilt Groupe cross the IPO finish line without scuffing the lacquer on its Louboutins?

How to Avoid Being Pushed Out of the Company You Founded Insiders dish on Naveen Selvadurai's defoundering.

Records Point to Credit Card Fraud by Silicon Swindler Shirley Hornstein She used her friend's credit card to buy a plane ticket in her name. Twice. 

Investors Wonder About the Future of TechStars New York Will TechStars New York maintain its prominence?

OP-EDS

We Need to Make Tech Uncool Again A call to arms for the idealistic nerd in us all.

Friends Investing in Friends: When It Comes to Startups, Is the Fix Already In? Is Startupland an insider’s game?

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Why We’re Definitely in a Bubble The social media bubble is real, and it's spectacular.   

Social Media Companies Have Absolutely No Idea How to Handle the Gaza Conflict War in the time of social graphs.

Area Blogger Worried People Will Think Reality Show Is Real A little perspective on Bravo's version of Silicon Valley.

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At any startup accelerator, Demo Days are a relentlessly upbeat affair--a parade of promotional pitch decks and stats about market size that somehow always reach up into the billions. But in New York City, Techstars' biannual showcase takes the cake.

Founded in Boulder, the program launched in New York in 2011 (just as the startup scene cried out for tent poles to rally around) and easily fills auditoriums. Companies often announce “soft-circled” funding or even that the round has already closed. Mayor Bloomberg even called the number of investors who fly to New York to check out presentations, "proof positive that the TechStars is going to change this world and certainly change America and this city.”

Or as TechStars mentor Joel Spolsky put it before introducing one of the startups at Webster Hall: "Time to get my company oversubscribed."

However, some investors and entrepreneurs have expressed concerns about whether the spring 2013 class of TechStars New York will yield the same financial windfall--and the same amount of interest from potential applicants.

Part of the worry is related to the Series A crunch and fears of funding cliffs and falling valuations. Economic conditions are unlikely to support the accelerator boom we've seen over the past couple years. "We grew too fast," Paul Graham wrote this month, announcing that Y Combinator, the mother of all incubators, would reduce the number of startups in its program from 84 down to 50. And that was after downgrading the investment per company from $150,000 to $80,000. Under the headline, "We know accelerators are headed for a shakeout — but do they? "PandoDaily recently pointed out, there are "at least 100 such programs churning out thousands of startups a year and the expectation that 90 percent of them won’t return their money."

"I'm not sure why you'd say there's an overall constriction based on one data point on the opposite side of the country," TechStars founder and CEO David Cohen retorted by email when we brought up changes at Y Combinator as a sign of things to come for other accelerators. "The fact that TechStars is in NYC, offers more funding than Y Combinator, has an awesome alumni and mentor network right there means that more startups from the area will likely apply," he said. (In exchange for 6 percent equity, TechStars invests $18,000 per company and a $100,000 convertible note.)

Mr. Cohen noted that New York's first program raised $24.2 million including follow on rounds, where the second program raised $13.8 million and the third raised $11.6 million. As for whether the next class will see as much investment, he said, "Time will tell."

But in interviews with Betabeat, local sources also listed specific concerns related to the management of TechStars New York, which recently saw a changing of the guard. David Tisch, who rose to prominence in his role as managing director of the program, stepped down in August to focus on investing through Box Group, his boutique angel fund, which has already seen a number of exits including GroupMe and just this week Behance.

Betabeat has learned that Adam Rothenberg, a director at TechStars for the past two years, has also left the program and will likely be working on investments through Box Group as well. Both Mr. Tisch and Mr. Rothenberg declined to comment for this article.

In November, rather than announcing a permanent replacement for Mr. Tisch from within the New York ecosystem, TechStars shipped in an interim managing director from the Boulder: Nicole Glaros. Ms. Glaros, a serial entrepreneur, comes equipped with plenty of relevant experience. She's run five previous TechStars' programs and will be living here.

So far, the absence of a hometown cheerleader like Mr. Tisch doesn't appear to have affected applicant interest. Mr. Cohen told Betabeat that the April program already boasts 735 application with a month to go before the deadline. "My guess is we'll break another record--which has happened every year since inception. As you know our acceptance rate is around 1% nationally, and we've seen 1200-1400 applications in the past in NYC for 10-12 spots. This doesn't seem to be slowing down," he said.

Mr. Cohen will be "very hands on with this program as usual," he added, noting that TechStars cofounder Brad Feld "will be spending extra time with this program as well."

However, those familiar with TechStars New York noted an unusual aura of silence around this program's candidates. "It's still a big mystery. Rumors usually spread like wildfire within the TechStars community," said one source, noting that around this time insiders typically know who is applying.

A couple of sources wondered if there was difficulty in finding a permanent replacement because of the way managing directors, who get a cut of TechStar's equity in companies, are compensated. Details offered are always hazy in terms of whether the position requires a buy-in. "There is limited salary at best for the position, but there are PLENTY of great people in NYC who can make this work," one TechStars mentor told Betabeat.

Mr. Cohen dismissed speculation about compensation, adding that although no offers have been made, TechStars has "heavy inbound interest in the role." Including other cities, TechStars boasts 17 exits overall. "In the past it's helped us attract high quality people such as Katie Rae, Jason Seats, Andy Sack, Nicole Glaros, Luke Beatty, and David Tisch in the past, and I don't expect that will be a concern at all."

Then there are some more pressing issues related to the startups themselves. One angel investor attributed skepticism about this class of companies’ ability to raise to the success rate of previous graduates. "TechStars bets on a category and hopes they can shape the startup," the investor explained. "People that invest after TechStars do it with the assumption that they've been vetted." However, the investor said, some graduates, "get the money and don't understand that it's money to build a business--or at least get LAUNCH. Where's Wander? How long has it been that they've been in beta?" Bondsy, another much-hyped startup, is also still in beta.

The investor also wondered if the lessons learned during the program were enough to prepare them for life outside the accelerator's bubble. "They teach them all this crazy shit about pitching that's not applicable in the real world. When going for your next round after TechStars, you can't go with your 10-slide TechStars deck and a promise that you're going to produce."

Mr. Cohen pointed out that TechStars New York has already had one exit from its first class: ThinkNear, a hyperlocal ad company that was acquired for $22.5 million by Telenav in October. "We're talking about 2011 here, last year," Mr. Cohen said in response to those concerns about the caliber of companies. "I wonder what sort of success people expect in that timeframe, now that it's the end of 2012?" It's often mentioned that Y Combinator, which was started in 2005, depends on a handful of blockbusters for its returns, including Dropbox, Airbnb, and Heroku.

Mr. Cohen encouraged anyone with questions or concerns about the upcoming program to reach out to him. There is an upcoming recruiting event, TechStars for a Day, scheduled for January 10th. The event will feature talks from Ms. Glaros, Mr. Spolsky and Thrillist and Lerer Ventures cofounder Ben Lerer. "Most importantly, it's a chance for us to spend time with interesting companies who want to learn more about TechStars." To get an invitation, startups have to apply before the January 4th early deadline.