FAQs
Attendance Policies
When is Startup Riot 2010?
Startup Riot is slated for February 17, 2010. The venue for the all day event is the Egyptian Ballroom at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. The after party will be at Gordon Biersch.
Who can attend?
Startup Riot is open to all investors (institutional and corporate VCs and angels), entrepreneurs, and large companies looking for partnerships and/or M&A opportunities.
Who can’t attend?
If you provide services to startups (attorneys, benefits, legal, etc.) you are NOT permitted to attend unless you are a part of a Startup Riot sponsoring organization. Individuals who have started service firms are included in this group of disallowed attendees. Finally, individuals who run pay-to-pitch organizations are absolutely NOT permitted to attend.
We are also not allowing anyone who works in a service industry but claims to be coming “on their own”. We had a bad experience in 2008and we aren’t doing that again.
Why should I attend?
There is no other event where you’ll have the opportunity to hear 3 minute pitches from 50 startups in a day. There just isn’t. If you really need convincing that you should go, read what these people had to say about Startup Riot 2008: Mathew Sweezey, Ashish Mistry, Lance Weatherby, Paul Freet, Joe Uhl, Loren Norman, and Paul Stamatiou. You could also read some writeups about Startup Riot 2009 from Lance Weatherby, TechDrawl, and Paul Stamatiou.
Presenting Policies
Are you only accepting Internet startups for presentations?
Absolutely not. We always accept a variety of companies although most were high technology/Internet related. Presenting startups must be in scalable businesses. Sorry, no startup consulting/service firms.
If I apply to present do I automatically get a slot?
Sorry, no. We tried that the first year of Startup Riot but given the growth of the event this just isn’t possible. We now have a selection process for potential presenters. But keep in mind that presenting at Startup Riot has been and will always be FREE.
What is the process to be selected to present?
First, you need to apply to present. The most important part of the application is the submission of a link to your four slide presentation (see the next question) and a link to a video (now optional!) of you presenting those four slides in three minutes (or less, but not much less). The video should be shot so that you are both easy to see and hear. Feel free to say things like “slide 1″ or “next slide” so that we can follow along with your presentation. Neither slides nor the video presentation need to be publicly available but they must be available to us without the need for a login/password.
Second, we’ll review your application and let you know if we are going to slot you. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first serve basis so it behooves you to apply early but with a good and complete application. In some cases we may defer your application so that we can better judge where you are in the applicant pool. Expect to hear a decision from us within four weeks or so after your application submission.
What are the requirements for the presentation?
There are two requirements. First, your presentation should be three minutes or less. On the day of the event, if you run over we will come up on stage and stop you. That has never happened so we’re really itching to get to push someone off stage. Don’t let that someone be you. That said, we also don’t want you to finish your presentation in one minute. Try to take all three minutes of your time but don’t go over.
Second, you are allowed only four slides. The first slide should clearly identify the presenter’s name and the name of the company. No other information is allowed on the first slide. You can put additional contact information or design elements but you can not use the first slide to convey information about your product or service. Of the remaining three slides, you are welcome to use them as you wish. We suggest that you heavily focus on your products/service since you only have three minutes to convey what you do to the audience.
When presenting your slides you may only go straight through the slides – you are not allowed to skip back and forth through the slides in an attempt to get more visuals for your talk. If you do that at the event you will be promptly removed from the stage. We’re not kidding.
Can I update my slides after I get selected?
Absolutely. We recognize that you may be applying to present at Startup Riot many months before the actual event. In light of that the application only requires your initial slides that you’ll use. If you are selected to present at Startup Riot, you will have the opportunity to submit final slides a few weeks before the big day.
What does it cost to present?
Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. We will never charge entrepreneurs a fee if they are selected to present at Startup Riot. All presenting entrepreneurs will get one free pass to the event for themselves. Additional company attendees will need to apply to attend and pay the relevant registration fee ($25 per person).
Will the event be broadcast live or taped?
Yes, we are planning to videotape all presenters and give them access to the resulting footage as well as put the videos online. We are also planning to live stream the event this year as well.
If you aren’t comfortable with these stipulations, then don’t apply to attend/present. This event is about increasing the awareness in the presenting companies and additional viewers who can’t make the event is a good thing for everyone.
Sponsorship
How can I sponsor Startup Riot?
We’re glad that you think Startup Riot is an event worthy of your sponsorship! We’ve had a great amount of interest in the event and would love to talk to you about the benefits of being a part of this event. But note, we reserve the right to reject any potential sponsor if we feel that our beliefs about entrepreneurship are not shared or reflected by your organization. We would much rather hold Startup Riot and lose money than have the wrong sponsors involved.
Please contact us and we can talk about possible sponsorship opportunities.
