startup-costsMy startup have been selected for the Alpha program for the rise conference (from the same organisers as Web summit, collision conference etc…)
Alas, the booth + ticket package is not free ! It is 1400 usd + vat for a booth and 3 tickets.
I have two days to decide.
Should I go ?
In my opinion, anyone running a marketing campaign like this knows it might seem deceptive and anyone with a bit of common sense would think it’s a scam without proof it is not. As such, even if it’s not a scam, who would want to be part of an event that is marketed like this: (1) people that want to scam people; (2) people that are able to be scammed; (3) people that don’t see how attending an event like this is a bad idea.
We participated at Collision Conf in 2015 and got a booth. There were over 2000 startups and very few investors and media representatives, so don't count on that too much. I think it might make sense to go there only if you are selected to participate in the startup competition, then you might have a chance to get noticed. However, we didn't get a lot of traction from our competition either...
Btw, this is how the pitch stage looks like: https://youtu.be/kvRxwkWVxGA
Our startup, TeskaLabs, attended, and I liked it. However, there were like hundreds or thousands of startups there. It was like a mad house. There is little to no press exposure unless you're known already. It's not worth the money if you're there only to exhibit without pitching
You can read more here. http://tech.eu/features/6244/web-summit-scam-well-ask/
I finally decided not to go, for several reasons.
First. I don’t want to encourage the practice of making people “win” something that is expensive. (And give two days to decide) Especially when their website is so vague about what’s free and what isn’t. It is purely unethical and should not be encouraged.
“Each week we’re selecting 25 early stage startups from around the world to exhibit for free as part of our Alpha Program.” Actually mean : Each week, we sell tickets for a high price to startups and give them a small booth for “free”
Second. I wasn’t tempted to buy any tickets in the first place. The only reason I hesitated is because I was “selected” to do so. But I wouldn’t have bought any tickets for that price if I saw this one their website directly.
I’m not saying that this event is useless, but don’t apply to their “free program” unless you wanted to buy some tickets in the first place.
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