“Free” in effect says to the organizers of the Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) that there is no perceived value whatsoever being created by the present level of effort(s). The event’s orchestration—the mutual convenience of face-2-face synchronizing of users and suppliers of equity capital in one place at the same time, the curating of entrepreneurs and VCs (by stage of lifecycle, or industry focus, or references), the opportunity for informed price discovery, the opportunity to simulate an auction-like environment and obtain the best price, the opportunity to collect useful market intelligence/scuttlebutt based on everyone being present at the same time. All of this is for nought? Nada, zilch, zip, not worth the paper it is written on?

One might argue that there is insufficient value being delivered at $495 and seek a different figure. Or, that the Web disintermediates certain middle-man that CIX used to do so well and that for $495, one needs to see more value added to the existing package. That’s fine. But to say that it should be free strikes me as unfair and unreasonable.

I hold no investment in, nor do I have a business relationship with, any of the organizers of the CIE.

Here\’s a little secret: it\’s not difficult to get a Canadian VC to look at your business (getting them to invest is, but that\’s equally true for companies that present at VC events). They aren\’t hard to find and contact, and it won\’t cos…

Paying to get facetime with VCs are for suckers.

Unless its DEMO, but even then its starting to seem silly given the amount of traction that its rival TC40 has gotten — and does not charge for its exposure to the startup.

If you can’t get a meeting based on the merit of your venture, or your ability find a way to connect to the right people though “hustle of making your own contacts and pitches…” then you/your team are probably not well suited for the startup game.

Another draw back about this is that you’re likely to be presenting to a reasonably large audience, an audience which may have prospect and current competitors. If you’re pitching to a small group or a partner inside a board room, you’re probably a bit more likely to open up some more sensitive information than a roomful of strangers. Once again another disincentive for the startup, and a dilutive effect in the likelihood that an investor will find quality information or opportunities.

The only way I see how this type of setup can work well is (1) its well attended by media; (2) its free to selected/qualified startups, with a deal savvy selection committee; (3) the investors pay foot the bill for costs of the event as a way to gain more exposure and dealflow within the community & media

Especially given the small size of the Canadian VC community.

But there are beauty contests that work quite well, e.g. DEMO.