Tuesday, November 02, 1999

C'mon Wise Guy...

So you think you're a tough guy, huh? A wise guy, you say? Well, Jason Cohen and Evan Stein of WiseAds.com are a couple of wise guys. Sharing a desk and a phone at Doubleclick, the two 25 year olds decided they could make twice as much money if they each had their own phone and desk. In February they launched their company and Tuesday, November 2nd, marked their big party debut with over 100 employees at the Plaza Hotel. Tom Hespos of Blue Marble, Andrew Fox of GlobePlanet.com and Keith Friedman of Bigstar was there with Donna Williams (VP, marketing BigStar).
I met a family friend of Evan's, Lynn Barri, with Karen Coe of PerotSystems. Ann Kayman, SVP of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (in a stunning cream silk jacket), introduced me to Jason's father, Marty Cohen, who owns a printing and office supply company. Masood Faisal of eWonders.com handed me his card as I ducked out and chatted with Howie Schwartz of Heynetwork.com and Ira Feigelman of PCFlowers&Gifts.com. The serious disco beat that pulsed through the mosh pit of youngsters was in marked contrast to the Plaza's usually sophisticated functions. But the coincidence of passing the original troublemaker in the grand Plaza, Elosie (in the gift shop), helped make sense of this contrast.