About

TECH cocktail is a community building startup founded in May 2006 by Frank Gruber and Eric Olson that offers events and community-powered projects open to bloggers, technology enthusiasts, entrepreneurs & professionals interested in technology in under served technology communities.open to bloggers, technology enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and other business professionals interested in the technology arena in under recognized technology communities.

Mission:
To amplify the technology signal in under served markets and have fun doing it.

Not every city has a sense of community seen in technology rich areas like Silicon Valley. TECH cocktail hopes to remedy the situation by creating a place for bloggers, technologists, entrepreneurs and other business professionals to meet, share ideas and have some fun. TECH cocktail is not exclusive to Chicago, and is open to the public in hopes people from around the globe will be able to participate. In the past TECH cocktail has hosted events in Chicago and Washington, D.C., Boulder and Boston.

TECH cocktail events are open to the public and can be blogged or podcast. A better recognized and connected tech community is possible through TECH cocktail.

Interested in sponsoring TECH cocktail? For additional details see the sponsorship information or contact us: cofounders [at] techcocktail [dot] com.

About the co-founders

Eric OlsonERIC OLSON is a Massachusetts native and Bentley College alumnus (B.S. Finance w/ IT Minor - Magna Cum Laude - 2004) who now resides in Chicago. Eric is currently working as an Associate at DFJ Portage while also advising a couple of Midwest-based startups. Prior to DFJ Portage Eric was VP of Business Development at BuzzFeed. He also worked in Partner Development at Google and in Business Development for Chicago-based startup FeedBurner which was acquired by Google in June 2007. Eric Olson can be reached at: eric at techcocktail dot com or found in the blogosphere at Olson’s Observations.

Frank GruberFRANK GRUBER is a principal product manager for AOL in the social networking & platforms group, Frank is responsible for the recently launched myAOL suite. Frank’s expert analysis on Web 2.0, social media and emerging technologies have been featured in TechCrunch, iMediaConnection and on SOMEWHAT FRANK. Frank also produces a video podcast called SOMEWHAT FRANK TV. Growing up in the Chicagoland area, Mr. Gruber received his Master’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from Northwestern University, and his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from Purdue University. Frank Gruber can be contacted at: frank at techcocktail dot com or found in the blogosphere at SOMEWHAT FRANK.

To discover more about TECH cocktail check out this interview of Eric Olson & Frank Gruber recorded by Technology Evangelist at TECH cocktail 2.

TECH cocktail is owned and operated by TECH cocktail, LLC.