To Pay or Not to Pay – That is the Question!
October 15th, 2009
There has been some discussion about entrepreneur fees being charged for the Fusion Venture Forum and we would like to address this issue by stepping back and sharing our thoughts about the Forum and our goals and objectives.
New Media BC’s overarching vision is:
To make BC the most recognized and admired center of digital media excellence in the world.
We know that Digital Media is thriving here and that our companies deserve the attention of the world. To make this happen and to be sustainable, we (Industry Associations) need to partner with Grassroots Organizations, Educational Institutions, the Government, Entrepreneurs and Industry and we ALL need to work together, step up, and support each other!
The Fusion Forum was created 3 years ago to provide a venture/investment forum specifically focused on Digital Media. And, based on our research, it is the only one of its kind. Fusion has always been a great opportunity to showcase and promote BC’s Digital Media Excellence. This year, New Media BC was challenged to expand the event and to bring in even more world-class investors and industry experts. Specifically, we were asked to recruit investors who had actively invested in early stage, digital media companies (which I would argue we have successfully delivered) and to provide an investment forum for any out-of-town speakers to connect with our local investment community to discuss the advantages in investing in Digital Media companies.
This has not been just a New Media BC effort! As I mentioned above, it has been a true team effort and we have received financial support from:
- Telefilm
- BC Innovation Council
- Vancouver Economic Development Commission
- Wavefront
- University of British Columbia Continuing Studies
And in-kind donations/reduced fees from:
- Business in Vancouver
- mod7
- The Social Agency
- BC Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development
- Techvibes
- Plug and Play Tech Center (California)
In addition, we have received support from a slew of local industry experts who are volunteering their time to teach at the Bootcamp and to sit on panels.
New Media BC is a non-profit organization and we understand these are difficult times for everyone. We would LOVE to do this event for free! However, we do need to cover our costs for Fusion, which include:
- a day for the Entrepreneur Bootcamp and Training
- an afternoon for the Dress Rehearsal and Presentation Coaching (for Presenting Companies)
- a day of Pitching Investors and Industry Experts
- a half day for Presenting Companies to have One-on-One Sessions with Investors/Industry Experts
- a half day of Investment Roundtables to facilitate knowledge transfer and new connections between our out-of-town speakers and our local investment community
Yes, we are asking Entrepreneurs AND Investors to pay to attend the events. This is largely because we have not received enough sponsorship to make it free for everyone.
So, where does that leave us? We have the attention of the world coming to see the Digital Media scene here in Vancouver. If $450, is too much to pay and/or you do not see the value, then Entrepreneurs have a few options:
- You can choose not to attend.
- You can let New Media BC know who’s missing from our sponsor list above and we’ll be more than happy to knock on their door!
- You can suggest other fundraising options that New Media BC perhaps has not explored.
As I said above, we would LOVE to provide a free forum for everyone to learn, showcase, market, and perhaps even find funding for their ventures. We simply need your help (and entrepreneurial ideas)!
I look forward to the heated debate that I know will follow!
Cheers,
Rochelle Grayson
Acting President & Board Member
New Media BC
P.S. Before I forget, I did want to comment on Jason Calacanis’ latest initiative encouraging Angel groups to not charge entrepreneurs for pitching. I do agree that charging outrageous fees is unfair. However, Fusion is not a monthly Angel Group meeting; it is an annual 4-day event and we are hosting speakers from abroad to participate. Unfortunately, there are significant costs to pull something like this together and as a non-profit, New Media BC simply needs to find ways to cover these costs.
Hi Rochelle. We’re all after the same thing: Making Vancouver a Global Startup Capital! I think together is the only way we will get there from here. Also, I apologize for the part that Bootup may have played in exacerbating this issue publicly. Bootup Labs and Bootup Entrepreneurial Society fully supports NMBC and the hard work that you guys are doing for our startup community. We remain open to talking more about how we can work together to get rid of those fees.
As an observer of this heated debate I can only comment on what I know. I have attended many New Media BC events over the last few years including the Fusion Forum. They were not free in the past as they are not now. It interests me why there is all this debate now going on via twitter and such. New Media BC is a not for profit and are thus only trying to cover costs for hosting such an event. Talking to someone involved in the event, it’s my understanding that none of the VC’s are being paid for attending. That means no startup is paying a VC for the opportunity to pitch! All the fees are related to hosting the event – the costs of hiring staff to seek out qualified VC’s, recruit speakers, rent space, organize and host the bootcamp and related activities. No organization can host an event like this for free. NMBC faces the same challenges as the rest of us do during tough economic times and to ask them to do it for free now, when they have been unable to so in the past, seems unrealistic to say the least.
P.S. Any of the startups unable to attend due to cost are more then welcome, I’m sure, to look up the list of VC’s on the Fusion Forum website and pitch them independently.
There is no conflict of interest in NMBC charging fees. It is a non-profit that is working on behalf of new media companies and there are real costs associated with running this event.
There is a serious conflict of interest where Angel Investors or those posing as such are asking start-ups to pay in order to pitch “their group”. This is the major issue that I think is implied in Jason C’s rant.
I have attended both good and bad investor/start-up events in Canada and Vancouver in particular. Even the good ones are focused on start-ups not involved with digital media. Considering the vast cultural industry located in Vancouver, I find this incredibly disappointing.
The Fusion Forum was a great event in the past when I attended. It is the ONLY event in Western Canada strictly focused on Digital Media start-ups, bio-tech need not apply. This event provides good value. Vancouver needs this event and more like them in my opinion.