Collision is the anti-CES. Thank goodness for that

LAS VEGAS -- Welcome to the anti-CES.

Nearly 1,000 start-ups from 89 countries are shoe-horned at tables resembling lemonade stands under a big white tent. Scores of panels took place behind curtained partitions. Investors and entrepreneurs hobnobbed at a speakers' lounge behind a main stage.

Collision is a small-scale version of the Consumer Electronics Show, the sprawling, mega-tech show that dominates the Strip -- and Americans' imagination about all things personal tech -- in January. Many call it the Super Bowl of trade shows. And just as many call it other, unprintable things: a paean to excess, long lines and marketing overkill.

Collision, the U.S. counterpart to the popular Web Summit conference in Dublin in November, takes a decidedly European approach, some three-and-a-half miles from the Strip in downtown Las Vegas.

Everything is in one place, creating a three-ring circus of start-ups, investors and media. Such cramped accommodations encourage interaction, even colliding viewpoints. In the maw of the demo areas, a father-daughter company, triMirror drew gawkers with a monitor showing its 3-D fitting technology.

"It's engineered serendipity," said Paddy Cosgrave, who created the show and its European version, Web Summit.

The cozy arrangements sparked conversations and ideas between start-ups, creating a "vibrant" vibe. "This is the Moneyball of conferences," said Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite, a social media management tool for business.

Daniel Saks, CEO of cloud-based start-up App Direct, called the two-day show "an intersection of hardware, consumers and enterprise."

Rooftop parties and after-hours events outdoors embodied the festive atmosphere. Zappos.com CEO Tony Hseih, who is championing the resurrection of downtown Las Vegas and was a major force in bringing Collision to Vegas, hosted two parties.

Of course, with so many people -- the show sold out with 7,500 attendees -- crammed into such a small space, the show had its logistical rough edges and it was often hard to turn down the noise and focus on themes and trends. The overcrowded conditions also wrecked havoc with Wifi service for some.

"There is talk of disruption and what's next?" said Debra Ah Williamson, an analyst at eMarketer, pointing to fallout in the media industry over the illegal viewing of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on streaming services such as Periscope and Meerkat.

Apple Store guru Ron Johnson today announced the launch of Enjoy, a concierge-like services for tech devices.

"The common denominator in starting a company is uncertainty," Johnson said.

"I don't use the word retail anymore," he said, describing his new company. "It's 'commerce' and how we buy things."

Johnson's thoughts underscored the ever-shifting tech landscape, one further roiled by murmurings of a potential bubble on the horizon. The stocks of Twitter, Yelp and LinkedIn took a licking last week after their financial results heightened concerns about their sky-high market valuation.

Still, a show like Collision -- with hundreds of early-stage companies vying for attention -- offers a tantalizing investment carrot for venture capitalists like Rory O'Driscoll, managing director of Scale Venture Partners.

"I can crank through 100 people with ideas here," he said, comparing the experience to speed dating. "Will I write a check for many of them? Probably not. But if I hit on one here, it writes your check for all my trips to Vegas."