Keiretsu Forum And TechCrunch50 Are Worlds Apart
In the wake of the uproar lately over Jason Calacanis and his demands that angel groups like the Keiretsu Forum let entrepreneurs pitch companies for free, Keiretsu's Silicon Valley chapter invited me to have breakfast with them this morning and attend one of their pitch sessions. It featured five entrepreneurs who'd made it through Keiretsu's screening process and on to the next hurdle -- a roomful of very tough judges. Setting aside the verbal gymnastics over whether Calacanis also charges entrepreneurs -- they can pitch at his and Michael Arrington's TechCrunch50 conference for free, but most of them pay to attend -- the two events could not have been more different. Going to TechCrunch50 was like hanging around with my kids -- who are noisy, energetic, and seem to be always eating -- while going to the Keiretsu Forum reminded me of the time I went to a Kiwanis Club lunch with my dad.
