To leverage the entrepreneurial energy of the San Francisco start-up scene for the benefit of their job-seeking members and local alumni, the Harvard Club of San Francisco sponsored its "JobNob" Happy Hour on August 18, 2009.

The event was specifically designed to provide HCSF members and local Harvard alumni non-members with an intimate opportunity to hear about and network with more than sixty start-up companies.  In a speed -dating format, twenty of the companies gave one-minute presentations about their projects to a group of 80 Harvard alumni and guests. After the presentations, participants enjoyed mingling with fellow alums and prospective employers at the happy hour.

The term "start-up" has come to epitomize why many people-and many Harvard alums among them-have flocked to the Bay Area to start, change or reinvigorate their careers. The energy of that enterpreneurial spirit is one of the facets of the Bay Area that makes it such a unique place to live and work, and the JobNob Happy Hour aimed to harness that energy.

The evening was organized by Jason Young, the VP of partnerships for HCSF, who created the event in response to the current economic environment.  Young remarked that, in these unprecedented times, "alumni clubs must seek new and innovative ways to provide their constituents with the professional networking and career development opportunities that they need."

The enthusiastic turnout and the positive feedback from the event has inspired HCSF to set up a virtual career fair in January. The JobNob Happy Hour was such a hit that word of the event has spread all the way to the Harvard Club of New York, which may replicate the event in the near future.