This is a really nice idea. Unpitch is a new event at which 60 entrepreneurs will sit down on December 11th with well-known angel and early-stage venture investors. No presentations or demos. Just sit down and talk. No fees, either. In fact, if you are accepted, they’ll buy you lunch. Hitches? You have to apply by December 1, and space is limited. Go here for more info: http://www.unpitch.org/
Unpitch is a response to the pay-to-pitch events run by youngStartup Ventures, including the so-called New England Venture Summit. If you are interested in background details, go here: http://j.mp/1bwZJat
I attended one of these New England Venture Summits several years ago as the guest of a friend, a Canadian entrepreneur who paid to present his startup, hoping to meet Boston-based investors. Several recognizable VCs participated in that morning’s Venture Panel. But not one of them stayed for the company presentations.
There are other pay-to-pitch events that are worse, like those presented by New York Private Equity Forums. They bill their event as: “America’s Premier Business Funding Conference for Early and Later-Stage Companies Seeking Growth Capital.” I attended one of their conferences in New York. There was not a single legitimate investor in the room.
