Welcome to the events business, where someone will happily sell you a dream of fundraising / winning an award / getting media exposure for the low low price of

Welcome to the events business, where someone will happily sell you a dream of fundraising / winning an award / getting media exposure for the low low price of as much as they can possibly extract from you. Yes, the occasional company comes away from these cattle calls with more than they came in with - which is why this sort of scheme continues. But for every one that does, many more just come away with empty wallets. Talking to investors is free - I'd put the money towards bettering your product instead.