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I already bought my ticket so I obviously don't qualify but I'll tell you how I turned from someone that couldn't afford it into a paying future attendee. I de
by rubeng 16y ago
I already bought my ticket so I obviously don't qualify but I'll tell you how I turned from someone that couldn't afford it into a paying future attendee.
I decided that I'd have sponsors for a project that would get me there. I actually had a couple of people confirm sponsorship if I decided to go this route -- I won't mention who they were specifically but they were very helpful in thinking it through.
The concept was: a video project of behind-the-scenes footage of BoS and sideline interviews of many of the speakers. I'd put up a site and ask in places like answers.onstartups.com for people to suggest questions for me to ask the speakers and I would mention their startup while video recording the short interviews ("So and so from X startup asks...").
I'm a bootstrapper with a day job and a relatively young product; so while I'm cashflow positive, I'm carefully watching expenses and reinvesting it back into the business. This is why I was making plans for this project. Ultimately, after much back and forth (and discussing it with my wife), I decided that if it was that important for me to go I should just take some of my profit and reinvest it in myself by going (which is an investment in my business). If I took on the project, what I'd gain in money I'd lose in valuable time that I could spend working on my product.
So, basically my thought here is that people that win free tickets should earn them in some way that gives back value to the entrepreneurs that can't afford to make it.
- gdltec 16y agoAgree with you 100%. I'll add video, photos and interviews to http://austintechgeeks.com http://austintechgeeks.com if I have a chance to go to this event. Thanks for sharing!
- rubeng 16y agoNot a problem. It would've been a fun thing to do and something I may think about doing in the future, I just think it's a bit much for me to take on right now considering I have a day job, currently have a product to enhance, and will be launching a new product in a couple of weeks.
- gdltec 16y agoSame here... it is not an easy task to have a day job and work in what we believe and enjoy the most! what's the name of your startup?
- rubeng 16y agoGood going; taking action while working a day job is extremely hard, so nice job doing what most people only talk about. My product: Bidsketch http://www.bidsketch.com http://www.bidsketch.com
- neilgd 16y agorubeng - this has inspired me to do something. E-mail me at neil.davidson@red-gate.com and I'll either refund your ticket so you can come free, or you can nominate somebody to get a free ticket.
- rubeng 16y agoThanks Neil! Email has been sent.
- rstaats 16y agoI like this idea, but if you use this approach I would be worried about the value diminishing for the person who gets to go. They might get consumed trying to be a short-term reporter and miss out on getting the full experience of the conference. Also, a lot of bootstrappers may not necessarily be as articulate with words and handy with a video camera as you. However, it would be a different story if the free tickets were going to people that are associated with some sort of media/publishing company (update: meant to say such as austintechgeeks.com). In that case you could get these individuals to do live coverage of the event in exchange for a ticket. Something like a "live blog" that Gizmodo does for big events. These individuals would have the skills needed to effectively cover the event and allow all of us at home to feel like we are a part of the live event. We wouldn't get the benefit of the networking experience, but at least we would maybe get a chance to participate real-time. Also, these individuals would hopefully be talking about it on their own publishing sites and broaden the reach of the conference - making it stronger for the years to come.