Entrepreneurs: Do Not pay to present to VCs

http://www.geekrebel.com/entrepreneurs-do-not-pay-to-present-to-vcs

by pixelbath • 16 years ago

7 5 16 years ago

pw0ncakes• 16 years ago

The fact that you won't be joining us will not have a negative affect on the summit - we will sell out and have a waiting list....it's completely your lose!

rjett• 16 years ago

If youngstartup is so confident that they're adding value by bringing investors and entrepreneurs together in one place, why isn't the financial burden placed on the VCs who attend the conference? After all, they're getting to see all the hottest startups present in one event. Certainly $1500 wouldn't break a startup, but that burden would hurt a VC even less.

I don't think events like these should be money-makers. I think participants should be charged up to the point that the cost of the venue is covered, but anything above this amount seems like it would be deadweight loss to most of the participants involved.

pedalpete2• 16 years ago

I think many of these events charge the VCs also. But I'd assume the big name VCs don't pay as they become a draw for both VCs and Entrepreneurs.

pedalpete2• 16 years ago

I find it surprising that VCs attend these things (with the exception of something like VanTech angels where they charge each entrepreneur $15 so it covers the cost of renting the space, coffee, etc).

Shouldn't a VC think that if an entrepreneur isn't resourceful enough to get a direct intro for free, then they shouldn't be running a business. Or are businesses throwing away $1500 just to pitch to the VCs who don't have enough deal flow/opportunities that they need to attend these events (I think the big name VCs are invited to these things for free).

Sure, it's nice to get the 'opportunity' to pitch in front of 80 VCs. But hopefully you've already pitched to 1 or 2 in private.

Also, when you're pitching to a large group, assuming that there are 50 other companies pitching, is your opportunity getting lost in the drone? I think it is safe to assume that if you meet a VC during their office hours, they are likely excited to hear about a new opportunity. It should be a refreshing break from their busy day answering emails, going through financials, due-diligence, and other managerial parts of the VC life that most people probably never consider.

Save yourself $1500 (or whatever it costs) pay yourself $100/hour to do some research on a few local VCs or Angels you like (read their blogs, don't aim only for DFJ) select a few and then work on getting intros. Go through the history of companies they've funded previously, see if there is a connection through a friend who knew the CEO or Marketing person and see if that person will get you an intro, or something like that. (this is how I met with Jeff Clavier, but I didn't get funded. he had met with the CEO of a company I used to work for, he didn't fund them either)

Be resourceful, show that you're resourceful. You're going to need to do more than throw money at minor twists in the road if you're going to build your startup into a growing concern that real VCs would be interested in.

ultrasaurus• 16 years ago

I can't understand how "I spent $1500 to talk to you" does anything but pollute the message. Consciously or subconsciously, it must send the message that you're not well connected at the very least and less valuable at worst.

Entrepreneurs: Do Not pay to present to VCs

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