It Takes Money To Make Money
TechCrunch50's Jason Calacanis is circulating a long rant today against angel investors who charge entrepreneurs to hear their pitches. Maybe it's a slow Friday for Jason too, but he calls out five groups by name -- the Keiretsu Forum, Maverick Angels, privateequityforums.com, the Tech Supper Club and Angels Den UK -- and claims that if they don't stop charging, they'll be targeted for "elimination" with "competing, fee-free events directly opposite your events," which investors will be encouraged to boycott. Calacanis also writes that it's "low-class, inappropriate and predatory for a rich person to ask an entrepreneur to PAY THEM for 15 minutes of their time," and that entrepreneurs who do pay are either "less good" or less connected, because good ideas spread naturally. "If your only option is to pay to get in front of these folks you've probably got an idea that is weak or bad." I called these groups, and two of them got back to me. Their response was the same: Nonsense.
