I had to pinch myself this morning to make sure that no, I wasn’t dreaming.  Yesterday’s Founder Factory really was as amazing as I remember it.

The Founder Factory exceeded all of our expectations:

• * We sold out at over 230 attendees.
• * Over half of the attendees stayed for the full 8+ hours of content, including many incredibly busy people.
• * Andy Altman, the Deputy Mayor, made a surprise visit and caught the contagious excitement of the day.
• * Our speakers gave riveting presentations, which I can’t wait to see online courtesy of Neil Kleinman from UArts.
• * The Fishbowl panels, an experiment in on-stage entrepreneurship, were extremely popular.
• * Dave Speers and Bart Mroz live-blogged from the event.
• * Twitter was exploding with Founder Factory coverage.

Even when we thought we goofed–for example, by setting up the Fishbowl chairs so the panelists couldn’t see the projection screen–we ended up with a remarkable moment we never could have planned.  See Josh Kopelman, Steve Barsh, and Bob Bickel stretching out on the floor as they watched Gabriel Weinberg present Duck Duck Go.

Thank you to the MAC Alliance, our sponsors, speakers, and panelists, and the many of you who volunteered to help bring this event to life.  You know who you are.

If you are feeling fired up and ready to help make Philadelphia the next great entrepreneurial city, we want your help.  Stay tuned for more information on how you can volunteer and get involved.

Next PSL event: Our happy hour on Dec 10 at 7:30pm.  I’ll send out the location as soon as we figure it out.  Our usual location at Rae Restaurant is not available that night.

Thank you all for giving me so many reasons for hope and optimism.