Valleywag: meghan asha

Are Michael Arrington and Meghan Asha off again, and will Calacanis pick up the rebound?

Jackson West — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:20:00 PDT

Meghan Asha has been tied to notoriously workaholic TechCrunch publisher Michael Arrington over the last few months. But could she be tiring of a beau with no work-life balance?

I need more dinners out with Jason Calacanis, rarely do you see a successful entrepreneur with such balance in all aspects of his life.

Just idle speculation, granted. Calacanis may have proper balance in his life, but the workaholism he demands of employees is another matter. We know for a fact that Sean Percival, an early Mahalo employee, has moved over to startup DocStoc.

Digg meetup more like a concert in a land without women

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:00:00 PDT

The line to get into Digg's meetup and live filming of Diggnation last night in Brooklyn went around the block. Inside, the joint was packed with dudes drinking beer, waving around iPhones, and wearing T-shirts. There were maybe like 10 or 15 women. Just as rare: Microsoft Zune users. Despite Microsoft's sponsorship, when Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback tried to give away Zune T-shirts, the crowd only booed. Julia Allison's entourage, Kevin Rose, and more in our photo gallery.

Details of Randi Zuckerberg's bachelorette party in Vegas

Owen Thomas — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:20:00 PDT

We hear that friends of Randi Zuckerberg, better known as nerd chanteuse Randi Jayne, are surprising the Facebook marketer with a bachelorette party in Las Vegas this weekend. The place: the Hard Rock Hotel, where they've secured two suites. (Zuckerberg is set to wed Brent Tworetzky, an associate at Shasta Ventures, in May.) The bacchanalia's expected to last all weekend, including a dinner at Tao and a night out at Rain. Who's going?

Attendees include fellow Facebooker Meagan Marks as well as Zuckerberg's sisters. What about Julia Allison, the New York Web personality who tagged along for an '80s-themed photo shoot with Zuckerberg? She's been known to attend the opening of an email, and Zuckerberg's bachelorette is considerably more momentous. Allison's also bringing sidekick Meghan Asha Parikh, the Silicon Valley heiress, and that annoyingly vapid handbag designer whose name we forget. (Surprisingly, Allison didn't leak her own social calendar to us this time, though she confirms by IM that she's "looking forward to the adorable, ineffable, indefatigable Randi's bachelorette party.")

As for Mark, Randi's younger brother? The Facebook CEO is not invited, as he is (a) a dude and (b) no fun at parties. He is, however, going to Tworetzky's bachelor party in New York. More on that as we get the details. (If you have them, send it in.)

Allison: I'm not a gold-digger and if I were, I wouldn't go to San Francisco

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:00:00 PDT

Ever since Julia Allison and Meghan Asha visited the Valley last summer and said in front of various cameras that they intended to find themselves a geek boyfriend, people have described the pair as golddiggers. We know Asha isn't one — why marry for money when you come from it? — but yesterday, Allison told CNET's The 404 that she isn't staking out San Francisco riches either. "If I'm gold-digging, why would you go to San Francisco? There are hedge fund managers right here," Allison said. "And they're getting cash instead of equity in a company that isn't worth anything," b-school graduate Asha chimed in. After the jump, Allison digs a deeper hole:

Allison has a beef with Ruby on Rails, the popular if controversial programming framework behind sites like Twitter. We can't tell if she's putting Patricia Handschiegel's tips for women entrepreneurs into practice — or making all the mistakes Melissa Gira Grant warned against committing when picking up geek guys.

Page Six's full scoop on Julia Allison's "IT Girls" reality show

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:40:25 PDT

Valleywag commenters hate the idea, but the New York Post's Page Six loves IT Girls, the proposed reality TV show with New York umtrepreneurs Julia Allison, Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin.

These three are more career-driven and have more to say than their L.A. counterparts, which should only lead to more drama. Even when they're not hitting Waverly Inn for dinner or flying cross-country for exclusive Silicon Alley [sic] events, this clique is never boring. They get Restylane injections for fun, own pocket-size dogs, and never go anywhere without blogging about it. What's not to love?

In the full-spread pic below, the Post speculates, and we can confirm, the show will air on Bravo, if the pilot's picked up. (One correction: Meghan Asha, née Parikh, is the heir to her father's Silicon Valley fortune, but it didn't come from Sun Microsystems.) Set your DVR now.

Allison, Asha and Rambin dump the Web, embrace TV

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:00:50 PDT

It's unclear if wanterpreneurs Julia Allison, Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin will cancel their Silicon Valley tour entirely, but word is the trio has wised up to venture-capital realities. Valley angel Ron Conway, an early backer of Google and Ask.com, "has a list of 200 things he'd invest in and nowhere on there is content," Allison's friend David Karp, the founder of Tumblr, advised her. She got the same advice from Valleywag commenters. Undaunted, Allison, Asha and Rambin are already onto funding plan B. The New York Post reports the trio will star in a pilot for a reality TV show named IT Girls about creating their Web company. The difference between exposing every detail of their lives to Web viewers and TV audiences? The latter actually gets them paid.

Allison, Asha and Rambin receive Pittsburgh private-jet pitch

Jackson West — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:00:26 PDT

A Mr. John French forwarded us a poorly punctuated invite. He seems to be extending it to the "Three Musketeers" — Julia Allison, Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin — for an all-expense paid trip to Pittsburgh and the Bahamas on the private jet of inveterate gambler Jeff Tott, who sits on Pittsburgh Financial's board of directors. Presumably they would want to explore "investment opportunities." Why not offer the getaway to Pittsburgh's own iJustine for her birthday? That seems easier. Update: And the answer is, um, no.

Manhunting no more, Allison, Asha and Rambin plan Sand Hill Road tour

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:00:46 PDT

Julia Allison, Meghan Asha and their friend, bag designer Mary Rambin, are planning a mid-April trip to Silicon Valley. This time, they say they're after funding for their new startup — Oprah on the Web! — not geek boyfriends. The three met with some New York VCs last week and it went "well enough," Allison told me, that their next stop: Menlo Park. Ah yes: Broadway has become the warm-up act.

Julia Allison and Meghan Asha, live on the Internet

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:58:24 PDT

Below, watch as startup wantrepreneurs Julia Allison and Meghan Asha tell Pop17's Sarah Meyers about their plans to stop blogging, take over the tech world and renounce dating men who work in tech. Rumor has it they're planning a startup with the blonde you people are so crazy about, Mary Rambin.

Arrington's ex likes to spy on her boyfriends

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:10:43 PDT

Why couldn't TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington and world class financier Meghan Asha make it work? Maybe it had something to do with Asha's habit of spying on her boyfriends. We don't know which one she's talking about here, but check out this post from her gadget blog

My ex-boyfriend used to hide all his cell phone activity from me like there were plans for the next nuke on it. His behavior was a precursor to his cheatin' ways. The whole situation could have been avoided if only I had the Cell Phone Spy Data Extractor. This handy little device allows you to tap into ALL files (even the deleted ones) on cell phone SIM cards.

A video demonstration of Asha's handy spy-tool, below.

Who is Meghan Asha?

Owen Thomas — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:47:44 PDT

A curiousity in our inbox: Meghan Asha, the Silicon Valley heiress who formerly dated TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, may not actually be Meghan Asha. A tipster says Asha's last name is actually Parikh, and her father is Mihir Parikh, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur. One piece of evidence that suggests Asha is actually Parikh: A friend congratulated Asha on running the New York Marathon last fall. But no one by the name of Asha ran in the marathon. Instead, a Meghan Parikh did. Asha's — rather, Parikh's — close friend Julia Allison also changed her name. But one wonders if Parikh was doing more than just following a friend's fashion. Update: More evidence, courtesy of the enigma herself:

In this picture of Parikh with YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley in Davos, look closely at "Asha"'s name tag:

Meghan Asha's family friend on Michael Arrington -- the 6-word version

Jordan Golson — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:40:32 PST

Who's going to read 476 words about Meghan Asha, Michael Arrington's ex? Screw that. Here's my six-word version of the interminable email: "Arrington ... is such an unattractive offering."

Meghan Asha buys Whoisyourarrington.com domain

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:00:37 PST

Michael Arrington's ex-girlfriend, Sun Microsystems heiress Meghan Asha, has purchased the domain Whoisyourarrington.com. Toward what purpose, we do not know. We just hope it doesn't hurt his feelings.

Meghan Asha's family friend: Arrington was "certainly a lapse in judgment"

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:40:02 PST

Silicon Valley heiress Meghan Asha, the daughter of an original investor in Sun Microsystems, needs to stop fraternizing with the plebes, a longtime family friend warns. "Her choices in friendships, recent or otherwise, aren't serving her well," this friend writes, singling out ex-boyfriend Michael Arrington — "an unattractive offering" — and fellow geek addict Julia Allison:

Meghan is a very different spirit than a "Julia Allison" type. I knew her as incredibly down to earth, friendly, smart, and thoughtful. She is someone that has a lot of potential.

Advice we should all take to heart, below.

I think that it is easy to be enamored with a friend and a certain lifestyle that seems really great. You start to lose your roots or not realize how perceptions from the company you keep will effect your life now or later.
I first met Meghan as a teen. She comes from a very lovely, but somewhat strict upbringing. Her family is very accomplished, and I believe her father was one of the original investors in Sun Microsystems, or has some sort of ties.

Meghan is one of those rare individuals. I knew her as incredibly down to earth, friendly, smart, and thoughtful. She is someone that has a lot of potential, as well as one of those people you want to cheer on. That can be a successful combination. However, her choices in friendships, recent or otherwise, aren't serving her well.

I think coming from a somewhat strict environment, and in trying to find oneself as a 20something, someone like a Julia Allison seems mesmerizing. I wouldn't think her parents would be fully pleased with her choices and the surrounding commentary.

As an observation, it seems clear from Julia Allison's own blogging, that she was inspired to capture an essence of a "Sex in the City" lifestyle .... and she has succeeded in doing so. But Meghan is such a different type of person that she should have better than that for herself. Though good press can be better than no press to drive your vision of your own tech website.... is that really true, when you are connecting your circle to receive reviews that present you in a derogatory manner?

The one thing that comes across in both their blogs is that they are looking for relationships. More than likely under Julia's tutelage, Meghan has been on the Today Show and now the CBS Morning show on "dating" related topics. Though a relationship with a really good guy is clearly what they both want the most, these choices will make it harder for them to find what they truly desire. A "great" guy will only come with smart life choices and creating respect for what you do, and who you are.

And as a "girl" looking for that relationship, and in that mindset, you will undoubtedly make mistakes. Such as in Arrington. I would guess her parents would not be pleased. It never matters if you are rich. What matters is what is your character. He is such an unattractive offering. The whole package is unattractive.

Certainly a lapse in judgment. I hope she can start to see what are better choices, and who are better choices, as she grows her vision.

Arrington blames us for his latest breakup

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:30:37 PST

Michael Arrington sat for an interview with Portfolio and they hit on all the important topics: Silicon Valley's "pirate" entrepreneurs, venture capital's relationship with the stock market, and of course, Arrington's love life. The nonboring bits:

L.G.: A singles scene. You mentioned your girlfriend. Are you available? What's your deal? M.A.: Oh yeah, that was years ago. No, I'm not dating anyone. L.G.: So you're on the market. M.A.: I guess, yes. It's kind of hard to date when everyone watches your every move, but yeah. Have you heard of Valleywag?

We're flattered, Mike. Really. But we can't take all the credit.

Asha already moving on, planning to get geeks gone wild in Miami

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:00:13 PST

Michael Arrington and Meghan Asha aren't on-again, off-again anymore. Sources with intimate knowledge of the situation tell Valleywag that it's unambiguously over. We're confident a man with Arrington's prospects will have no problem moving on. Asha, it seems, already has.

At least, that's what her BFF Julia Allison writes on her blog. Asha and Allison plan to attend the Future of Web Apps show in Miami at the end of this week. And Allison writes, "we just can't stay away from the tech guys ;)" She wonders: "If college girls take off their shirts for a trucker hat, what will geeks take off their shirts for? A memory card reader keychain? Hmm."

How will she ever satisfy her curiosity?

Michael Arrington is single

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:20:19 PST

Four eager tipsters inform us that TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington is once again single. We hope this doesn't mean it's completely over between Arrington and his on-again, off-again fling, Meghan Asha. But if it does, we just hope Arrington has learned his lesson. Next Valentine's, Michael, send flowers. Then, late February next year, maybe you won't still be looking for "a relationship" and "dating," as your profile indicates.

We were kidding about the Julia Allison cover, Wired

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:20:48 PST

We weren't actually serious about Julia Allison following up her Time Out New York cover with an appearance on the front of Wired. And yet, here's a photo from Julia Allison and Meghan Asha's brunch meeting with an unnamed Wired "marketing manager." Our hope is expired.

Meghan Asha plays with toys not named Arrington

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:00:49 PST

Meghan Asha — the SIlicon Valley heiress who keeps TechCrunch's Michael Arrington as her on-again, off-again boy toy — found a new dog to play with at yesterday's toy fair in New York. Improvements over Arrington: He can't talk, but he can wag his tail."Do you want a date?" Asha asks. "Do you want to come home with me? I would take really good care of you." Below, in another clip, Asha in a lurid threesome.

Happy birthday, Julia Allison, we're finding a new man for you

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:30:38 PST

Geek-loving cover girl Julia Allison turns 27 soon and all she wants — other than a MacBook Air and whole long list of stuff — is a boy, "tied with a red bow, like a new car for graduation." Knowing Julia's taste for geeks like Kevin Rose and some guy who used to run some video site, we figured: Who better to help Julia land a new man than Valleywag readers? So help her out and vote in our latest poll.

Did Michael Arrington forget to call his girlfriend yesterday?

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:40:56 PST

"Julia got me the most thoughtful gift for Valentine's Day," Meghan Asha writes on her blog, "Girlfriends are the best remedy for the V-day blues." Who disappointed Asha? She was, last we heard, seeing TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington. Michael, be a gentleman and at least send flowers.

Meet Meghan Asha, hedge fund analyst

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:20:18 PST

Admit it. Michael Arrington's flame du jour, Meghan Asha, is working her way into your cold, schadenfreude-loving hearts, people. First you found out she doesn't need Arrington's bankroll. Then, the private plane. Now this from the above clip: She used to work as a hedge fund analyst and is now starting a company on the side. Plus, she's adorkably awkward on TV.

Meghan Asha's party plane

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:00:30 PST

Videoblogger Meghan Asha, who pals around with TechCrunch's Michael Arrington from time to time, comes from a wealthy Los Gatos family, we hear. The evidence? She flies around the country in a private plane. Here's what that party venue in the sky looks like. That's Asha between fellow geek-luster Julia Allison and comedian Demetri Martin. A tight squeeze.

Meghan Asha isn't into Michael Arrington's money

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:30:27 PST

Michael Arrington's on-again, off-again flame Meghan Asha is not the golddigger some of you — tsk, tsk — unfairly presume her to be. Turns out she's loaded! Like private jet, loaded. "She's from the Bay Area," a tipster tells us,"and at least one of her parents is a big deal. Apparently [Asha's] family paid for the private jet that she and Julia Allison took from CES to the Crunchies." If this news is meant to warm people's hearts to Asha, it just might — until they reach the conclusion that she must actually be into him. (Photo by Robert Scoble)

TechCrunch editor's girlfriend needs your vote

Paul Boutin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:10:37 PST

Meghan Asha, the alleged squeeze of TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, is getting whupped by her BFF and notorious nobody Julia Allison by a ratio of more than 2 to 1 in Valleywag's latest runoff poll. Come on, Crunchers, you can't blame Nader for this one. Vote now!

Meghan and Julia: BFFs tag-teaming Silicon Valley

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:11 PST

In this video filmed last July, Julia Allison and BFF Meghan Asha announced their intentions to "find a tech guy boyfriend." In the six months since, one of two has been "connected" with names like Digg founder Kevin Rose and TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. You may protest, people, but the pair has conquered you. Rather easily.

While they conquer, we want you to divide. In our latest Valleywag poll, risk driving a wedge between the two forever, and let us know which you geeks really love (or love to hate).

Arrington's girlfriend, reporting on Google's Davos party

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:00:50 PST

"Last night was completely surreal," Michael Arrington's on-again, off-again flame Meghan Asha writes on her blog. " I had the privilege to attend the swankiest, hippest, most exclusive party in Davos. Here's my attempt at reliving the experience through video."

Michael Arrington's on-again, off-again girlfriend is Julia Allison's BFF

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:48:29 PST

Meet Michael Arrington's on-again, off-again flame: Meghan Asha. Here's the pair in together in Davos, Switzerland. Would you believe she's BFF with Star magazine editor-at-large and widely respected tech critic Julia Allison? We can't wait for MichaelandMeghan.com. After the jump, another shot of Asha and Arrington, as well as footage from Julia and Meghan's trip together to Vegas.

Arrington and Asha in Davos together: Look at those smiles. Don't you just know those two kept each warm in the chilly Swiss air?

Here's Meghan and Julia together in Vegas. Shouldn't Julia have warned Meghan off geeks?

We wear our sunglasses at night

Owen Thomas — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:04:06 PST

No, I don't understand Paul Boutin's fixation with Bono, either. But he brought a fistful of sunglasses to Moose's on Friday, and before we knew it, everyone was putting them on. The bar's lighting is already moody, and let me tell you, when you put on a pair of Bulgari, it gets murkier than an open-standards discussion list. Things got even geekier when the boys from Uncov rolled in. And then, out of nowhere — well, out of Las Vegas, really — Julia Allison and Meghan Asha showed up to glam up the evening. Did we say "happy hour"? Our apologies. We practically closed the place. Next Friday: Natali Del Conte's going-away party.

Julia Allison still at large in Bay Area

Owen Thomas — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:02:11 PDT

Attention, Valley residents: Julia Allison, the Star editor-at-large, TV commentator, and notorious nobody from New York, is still in the area. Valleywag has learned — from Allison herself! — that she cancelled plans to fly back yesterday at the behest of imperious TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, who ordered her to "fucking stay." As startup entrepreneurs already know and Allison is learning, one disobeys Arrington at one's peril. So strap down your menfolk and lock away your sysadmins, people: Allison and companion Meghan Asha are still on the prowl. They're from the Big Apple, they're way underdressed for the weather, and they're not going to leave until they land a beau who can whip up a jazzy CSS file and upgrade them to Movable Type 4.0.