The hottest place for startups to strike a deal? The F1 paddock

Over cold drinks in the Florida heat, this TechCrunch reporter watched from the paddock as founders and investors — the rich and the richer — mingled in search of deals. Conversations barely paused, except for the occasional glance at the track where drivers, sealed inside multi-million-dollar machines, chased the chequered flag. F1 weekend is a three-day affair, with the race as the finale. In between are kickoffs, soirées, cocktail parties, dinners, and nightclub takeovers — spaces where business and pleasure blur. Events like this, where wealth concentrates, have historically been places where business deals are struck. But the popularity of the F1 paddock has grown in recent years, especially among the startup and venture crowd. “It’s a hot place for everyone with access trying to strike a deal,” one founder said, recalling being brought to the paddock by a venture firm two years ago. This year, Chandler Malone, a founder, said he didn’t even attend the race; he only went to some of the side events. So many venture firms were hosting them and much more than usual, he said. “You name the fund, it was someone there hosting clients,” Marell Evans, an investor, also told TechCrunch. “Lots of folks missed Milken for F1 Miami.” F1 teams, once sponsored by major oil, tobacco, banks, and alcohol companies, have embraced the new railroad giants. …