Incubator Hatches Parties on Web
The first company to emerge from the ECompanies Internet business incubator will be unveiled today. EParties will build a Web site where party planners can get ideas on themes, generate e-mail invitations, keep track of RSVPs, buy supplies and create a gift registry. David Haddad, former president of Mattel Media, the toy giant’s software division, will become chief executive of the new company.
Planning a party online at a party portal site “is a better consumer proposition,” Haddad said. “If it were more convenient, I’m convinced people would want to throw more parties.”
The idea behind EParties appears to overlap with Event411.com, the Culver City company whose Web site helps users plan functions ranging from baby showers to company picnics. ECompanies co-founder Sky Dayton said the EParties site will be “much more comprehensive” than Event411.com’s offering when it launches in late November or early December, but he declined to give details.
