Welcome home, the dotcom party animal. With the dotcom scenario getting a little more realistic, there's a huge scramble on for funds and people.

Knowing the right people and being seen at the right places has never been more important. The dotcommers are networking fast and furious and they have already created multiple avenues to meet and schmooze. In the metros, there are at least four events a month dedicated to the great Indian dot-com cause. In the absence of designated hunting grounds, any event will do.

When Yahoo launched its India site in a downtown Mumbai hotel not too long ago, the veritable who's who of the industry turned up in their corporate finery. If getting photographed with Jerry Yang was high up on the agenda, cinching a great alliance deal or impressing a VC was not far behind. "At the Yahoo launch party, I got to meet ten CEO's and I closed deals with seven of them," gushed Arun Pai, an angel investor with passionfund.com who braved a crowd of nearly 1,000 people at the party just to clinch the right deals. Till recently, conferences and seminars doubled up as the meeting spots for technology professionals. However, the dot-commers aren't willing to wait for the next geek meet to catch up with the fraternity. They are creating their own events to catch up on the buzz, the VC, the competition and what have you. "Today there is no forum for VCs and entrepreneurs to really talk. VCs need to ensure that they get the best deals. If you are a VC, then it is all about individual contacts. Also VCsrarely get a chance to network with other VCs and talk shop. There is a need for VCs to even network among themselves and these events provide the platform," Balmohan Tarakkad, founder, Trade Fairs and Conferences International and a regular at networking meets said. On with the party, there are networking events set to suit every taste. From exclusive wine-and-dine affairs to small informal events where groups of entrepreneurs huddle together exchanging tips, tricks and business cards, there is something for everyone. A typical evening usually has a presentation or a talk by a VC, an angel investor or a dot-commer who's made it big. A Q & A session follows the talk and then the audience is free to network. Here's India.CNET.com's guide to the best meets in town: e-Tuesdays: The glitziest of them all, e-Tuesdays are held on the Tuesday of every month. Hosted by Rajiv Samant, chief executive of Sula Vineyards, the event has it all: Wannabe dot-commers, compulsive party animals, venture capitalists and theubiquitous scribe. eye-to-eye.come: Organized by the TiE Mumbai chapter, this networking meet held once a month is the ideal place for entrepreneurs VCs and angel investors to get together. Prowling the grounds are also a few corporate executives looking for a career change. In short, it is the place to look for a job, switch jobs or just hunt for money (`funding' in dot-com parlance).

indiaentrepreneurs: Primarily a mailing list, the offline meetings of the group are held once a month in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Chennai.

Though the events are low profile, the meets are the best place for entrepreneurs who like to keep their business away from the glare of the media and other birds that prowl the rest of the networking events. And of course there are always the launch parties. With a dot-com launched every other week, launch parties are high-profile events that boast the best eyeballs in town. Pai who's a fixture at most networking events said, "e-Tuesdays feature the VC and South Mumbai crowd. At the e-Tuesday parties people come to be seen while the indiaentrepreneurs event has the smart suburban crowd. The TiE events are technology focussed and are basically for start-ups and Internet companies."

While the e-Tuesdays party is by invitation only, the indiaentrepreneurs meets are free for all. For the rest of the events, party animals need to cough up around Rs 500-a small price for an evening that can help one do business worth lakhs. The regulars claim that serious business deals are struck over kababs and wine primarily because decision-makers land up at these events. "Typically, if I have to deal with the company I have to call up and fix a appointment with a middle-level manager who then talks to his boss who then asks the manager to fix a meeting with me. I can't afford that delay. At the networking meets the big honchos are already there and the deals can be clinched right then," says passionfund's Pai. The party's just begun. There is a huge demand for networking events and two companies are set to fill this niche: A California based start-up, siliconspot.com and Mumbai-based Trade Fair and Conferences International (TFCI).

Siliconspot.com will set up base in Mumbai and Delhi by the end of September and will host offline networking events for Internet and technology companies. "We are essentially creating a marketplace through our offline networking events. We feel that there is a huge gap in the Internet community space, especially in the organization of networking hubs. These informal fun events are an incredible platform for companies to find funding, hire talent and find partnerships. These events will be the resource and meeting place for the start-up community," said Mousumi Shaw, co-founder of siliconspot.com. At the siliconspot events abroad, the audience is usually a mix of working professionals, students, start-up and medium-sized Internet companies, investors, and advisors. At a typical networking meet, between five and eight start-ups or early stage companies give presentations on who they are, their business model and what they are looking for in terms of funding, talent, partners and advisors. Also set to exploitthe market is Trade Fairs and Conferences International, a company that has organized events like e-biz and a talk by Nicholas Negroponte, author of bestseller `Being digital' and director of MIT Media Labs.

Tarakkad who heads TFCI said, "We plan to organize concept meets that have someone from the industry deliver a talk on a particular topic. This would help us have niche and focused events." TFCI hopes to have its first event in December with one following every quarter. "We want our events to provide value to the people who come for them. And there are many who want to be with what is happening in the industry. They want to know what the others in their field are up to," he said. "There is a huge potential for these kind of events out there and we believe that with our expertise we can fulfill the networking needs of investors, entrepreneurs, job seekers and professional service providers," agreed Shaw. In arrangement with CNET.India.com Welcome to the Wine & Web party; dotcommers network fast to speed up connectivity with VCscontacts. Also VCs rarely get a chance to network with other VCs and talk shop. There is a need for VCs to even network among themselves and these events provide the platform," Balmohan Tarakkad, founder, Trade Fairs and Conferences International and a regular at networking meets said. On with the party, there are networking events set to suit every taste. From exclusive wine-and-dine affairs to small informal events where groups of entrepreneurs huddle together exchanging tips, tricks and business cards, there is something for everyone. A typical evening usually has a presentation or a talk by a VC, an angel investor or a dot-commer who's made it big. A Q & A session follows the talk and then the audience is free to network.Here's India.CNET.com's guide to the best meets in town: e-Tuesdays: The glitziest of them all, e-Tuesdays are held on the Tuesday of every month.

Hosted by Rajiv Samant, chief executive of Sula Vineyards, the event has it all: Wannabe dot-commers, compulsive party animals, venture capitalists and the ubiquitous scribe. eye-to-eye.come: Organized by the TiE Mumbai chapter, this networking meet held once a month is the ideal place for entrepreneurs VCs and angel investors to get together. Prowling the grounds are also a few corporate executives looking for a career change. In short, it is the place to look for a job, switch jobs or just hunt for money (`funding' in dot-com parlance). indiaentrepreneurs: Primarily a mailing list, the offline meetings of the group are held once a month in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Chennai. Though the events are low profile, the meets are the best place for entrepreneurs who like to keep their business away from the glare of the media and other birds that prowl the rest of the networking events.

And of course there are always the launch parties. With a dot-com launched every other week, launch parties are high-profile events that boast the best eyeballs in town. Pai who's a fixture at most networking events said, "e-Tuesdays feature the VC and South Mumbai crowd. At the e-Tuesday parties people come to be seen while the indiaentrepreneurs event has the smart suburban crowd. The TiE events are technology focussed and are basically for start-ups and Internet companies."

While the e-Tuesdays party is by invitation only, the indiaentrepreneurs meets are free for all. For the rest of the events, party animals need to cough up around Rs 500-a small price for an evening that can help one do business worth lakhs. The regulars claim that serious business deals are struck over kababs and wine primarily because decision-makers land up at these events. "Typically, if I have to deal with the company I have to call up and fix a appointment with a middle-level manager who then talks to his boss who then asks the manager to fix a meeting with me. I can't afford that delay. At the networking meets the big honchos are already there and the deals can be clinched right then," says passionfund's Pai. The party's just begun. There is a huge demand for networking events and two companies are set to fill this niche: A California based start-up, siliconspot.com and Mumbai-based Trade Fair and Conferences International (TFCI).

Siliconspot.com will set up base in Mumbai and Delhi by the end of September and will host offline networking events for Internet and technology companies. "We are essentially creating a marketplace through our offline networking events. We feel that there is a huge gap in the Internet community space, especially in the organization of networking hubs. These informal fun events are an incredible platform for companies to find funding, hire talent and find partnerships. These events will be the resource and meeting place for the start-up community," said Mousumi Shaw, co-founder of siliconspot.com. At the siliconspot events abroad, the audience is usually a mix of working professionals, students, start-up and medium-sized Internet companies, investors, and advisors. At a typical networking meet, between five and eight start-ups or early stage companies give presentations on who they are, their business model and what they are looking for in terms of funding, talent, partners and advisors. Also set to exploitthe market is Trade Fairs and Conferences International, a company that has organized events like e-biz and a talk by Nicholas Negroponte, author of bestseller `Being digital' and director of MIT Media Labs.

Tarakkad who heads TFCI said, "We plan to organize concept meets that have someone from the industry deliver a talk on a particular topic. This would help us have niche and focused events." TFCI hopes to have its first event in December with one following every quarter. "We want our events to provide value to the people who come for them. And there are many who want to be with what is happening in the industry. They want to know what the others in their field are up to," he said. "There is a huge potential for these kind of events out there and we believe that with our expertise we can fulfill the networking needs of investors, entrepreneurs, job seekers and professional service providers," agreed Shaw. In arrangement with India.CNET.com