TechCrunch is notorious for being a leader in technology and startup world news. With the addition of TechCrunch TV, they expanded their offering and continued producing great content. Now they can claim to be some of the best damn party planners on the planet too!

Last night, the TechCrunch Southeastern Mini-Meetup Tour made their Raleigh-Durham stop at Bay 7 of the American Tobacco Campus. Over 600 local entrepreneurs, technologists and investors registered to attend. It seemed like every single person showed up and even brought friends. The place was absolutely packed.

We have meet ups throughout the Triangle but this event was different. Naturally, the core group of enthusiasts were around. You know, the guys who are there for the food and beer (mostly the beer) and aren’t ashamed to admit it. But these people were only 1/10 of the crowd. It was crazy how many people were there. It was a who’s who of the Triangle. TechCrunch rolls deep.

But where have all of these people been? I know work, families, children and sleep are all priorities but we need more turnouts like this in the Triangle. The conversations I had were great, I met tons of new people, and was even able to establish some connections to follow up on. We’re all in this entrepreneurship thing together and last night felt like we were preparing as a team to go win. Raleigh-Durham (and Chapel Hill) have some great things going on, with some really fucking cool startups. That’s like going into battle with better weapons then the enemy. Easy win.

Events like TechCrunch Raleigh-Durham really help to foster our sense of community and the sharing of ideas. So here’s my challenge. This goes out to every genius in the Triangle (yes, if you are reading my blog that makes you a genius). For the next 90 days let’s pack every single meet up event with great turnouts. We have ExitEvent, Startup & Play, Social Venture Chapel Hill, etc. How we do it is really simple. Each person hears about an event, completely ignores everything else in their life, kidnaps as many people as possible, and shows up. Pretty damn easy!

The Triangle is on the rise. Entrepreneurs and startups are making noise. It’s getting louder and louder – are you willing to risk missing out on the fun?

****UPDATE: Click here to find an online petition of entrepreneurs throughout the Triangle. By signing, you admit this is a special place and you pledge to convince everyone else of it too!

Follow me on Twitter @APompliano and I will do my best to send out updates on events as they are coming up. Beat me over the head if I fail.