Back in June, StartupNorth was one of the first places to break the story of the death of the Toronto Venture Group. Every year the TVG had an event called the “Venture Forum”, which died when the TVG was shut down.
It didn’t take long for the gap to get filled in however, and soon enough the CIX was announced. The premise is largely the same: Companies are pre-selected to pitch a room full of VCs who will presumably think about funding some of them. You need to apply to present, and then your company will be vetted by a selection committee. The cost to attend and present (if you are chosen) is about $1,000 in total, or $495 if you are just attending.
Is CIX worth attending?
This conversation got kicked off today on David Crow’s blog after David posted about CIX, Ali Asaria, the guy behind Well.ca, suggested that $500-$1,000 was actually a lot of money for a startup, no matter what stage they are at.
It is true, $1,000 is a lot of cash, but the truth is: it isn’t too much. The question here isn’t about money, it is about value. Will you get anything out of 2 days in a conference full of other people who are trying to make this ship sail in Canada? I think you will. The thing is: It is completely up to you. You can find the agenda for the two days here.
To make the best of this event you need to come at it with the right frame of mind: Make as many connections as possible, tell as many people as possible about your startup as you can, and finally, get as much advice as possible.
In the run up to CIX we will have a few posts about kicking butt at CIX, for both the VCs and the Entrepreneurs.
StartupCamp
There is also StartupCamp, which we are putting on for free during CIX. We decided to do this because it will give a chance for the startups presenting at StartupCamp to get exposure to a crowd that doesn’t always come out to these events.
Where companies that present at CIX will be somewhat established and will have already figured out their pitch, StartupCamp is for companies who are still trying to work out the details of their business plan.
You can fill out this form to apply to pitch at StartupCamp. We’d love to have some unknown but awesome startups to show off!
You can register for CIX here.
I don’t think that Ali is wrong. I’m curious what others think about the value.
http://www.polldaddy.com/s/D6FCB7A1FF6716AE/
I don’t think that Ali is wrong. I’m curious what others think about the value.
http://www.polldaddy.com/s/D6FCB7A1FF6716AE/
So we have this trophy here… says “Best Pre-VC Deal” from the Canandian Venture Forum (from the TVG). Did the phone ring off the hook with investors?
Nope. Interest from the VCs we were already talking to did not increase. Other Canadian VCs expressed no more interest than they were already.
Overall Value = Zero – ticket cost.
Also known as, DON’T GO.
A year later, we closed an A round from a large Indian company. CVF meant nothing to them.
So we have this trophy here… says “Best Pre-VC Deal” from the Canandian Venture Forum (from the TVG). Did the phone ring off the hook with investors?
Nope. Interest from the VCs we were already talking to did not increase. Other Canadian VCs expressed no more interest than they were already.
Overall Value = Zero – ticket cost.
Also known as, DON’T GO.
A year later, we closed an A round from a large Indian company. CVF meant nothing to them.
The fine print on the reg page also says “* In addition to the conference fee, $495.00 will be charged should your company be selected as a Presenting Company.”
As an entrepreneur trying to make the startup a living, breathing, successful reality, this additional charge (conference + travel + pitch cost) starts to make it look like a $2,000 bill. That’s $200 per minute of presentation or almost $700 per guaranteed meeting.
I think entrepreneurs already fully recognize the nothing-ventured, nothing-gained mantra, but why is the burden of cost on the startup? It looks like an additional tax on trying to get your venture working.
And how many startups will be selected to present for 10 minutes? It can’t be too many, maybe 5 at the high end? Doesn’t it seem more fair for someone who stands to benefit from the potential dealflow to sponsor this part of the event for $2,500 (5 companies x $495) instead of extracting that from the startups?
Lastly, unless we (the startups) know the ‘20 leading investors,’ the proposition is pretty weak. It’s a matter of speaking to the right people, not the most people. So it could be 100 leading investors. The number doesn’t really matter. Who are they and what are their areas of expertise / investment? That’s what counts.
The fine print on the reg page also says ?* In addition to the conference fee, $495.00 will be charged should your company be selected as a Presenting Company.?
As an entrepreneur trying to make the startup a living, breathing, successful reality, this additional charge (conference + travel + pitch cost) starts to make it look like a $2,000 bill. That?s $200 per minute of presentation or almost $700 per guaranteed meeting.
I think entrepreneurs already fully recognize the nothing-ventured, nothing-gained mantra, but why is the burden of cost on the startup? It looks like an additional tax on trying to get your venture working.
And how many startups will be selected to present for 10 minutes? It can?t be too many, maybe 5 at the high end? Doesn?t it seem more fair for someone who stands to benefit from the potential dealflow to sponsor this part of the event for $2,500 (5 companies x $495) instead of extracting that from the startups?
Lastly, unless we (the startups) know the ?20 leading investors,? the proposition is pretty weak. It?s a matter of speaking to the right people, not the most people. So it could be 100 leading investors. The number doesn?t really matter. Who are they and what are their areas of expertise / investment? That?s what counts.
This is simply profiteering from the dark side of VC. Eventually, you realize that you you should never pay for money, or especially for the shot at money. That’s what lotteries are for. Networking is free and contingency fees always provide an incentive for third parties to raise cash and filter the nonsense out. All this does is a force an entrepreneur to sacrifice a mortgage payment so a new elitist funding group can serve shrimp cocktail.
This is simply profiteering from the dark side of VC. Eventually, you realize that you you should never pay for money, or especially for the shot at money. That’s what lotteries are for. Networking is free and contingency fees always provide an incentive for third parties to raise cash and filter the nonsense out. All this does is a force an entrepreneur to sacrifice a mortgage payment so a new elitist funding group can serve shrimp cocktail.