"Amid the resurgence, startups are again throwing attention-grabbing parties to rise above the din, albeit with moderation born of hindsight. "I call it rational exuberance," says David Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Genius Inc., a San Mateo (Calif.) Web analytics software startup. Genius rented out the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on May 3 for its coming-out fete. Employees donned bright orange shirts, bartenders poured orange Genius cocktails, and television cameras captured the 400 guests for a local news broadcast. Conspicuously absent were such '90s touches as $10,000 ice sculptures. Instead, Thompson handed out acrylic award statuettes to favorite clients, subtly reminding guests that, unlike dot-coms of yesterday, the company's debut comes with a finished product and paying customers." - Business Week (May 22, 2006)
