Just five days until TechCrunch40 next week in San Francisco. As of right now we have 27 tickets remaining, which means it should sell out sometime tomorrow afternoon and registrations will be cut off. There will be approximately 900 people at the conference, which is about double what we had originally planned (and hoped for).
Forty companies are preparing to launch products (actually, 39, but more on that below) in front of the full audience and panel of experts, and will compete for the $50,000 prize. An additional hundred startups will be showing their products in the demo stations. On top of that, Yahoo and AOL will be launching products at the event, and we have keynote sessions with Marc Andreessen, David Filo, Chad Hurley, Michael Moritz and Mark Zuckerberg. Jason Calacanis has been coaching startups at Sequoia Capital over the last few days to perfect the demos.
As I said above, we actually only have 39 startup launches planned. The last spot on stage on the last day will go the audience choice from the demo pit companies. Each attendee will be given two tokens (one for each day) to give to the demo pit companies they like best. Whoever gets the most tokens gets a spot on stage and is fully eligible to win the $50,000 prize.
I am really looking forward to the event, and I am absolutely humbled by the outpouring of enthusiasm we are receiving from companies and attendees . I’ve never been associated with a production of this size - there are literally thousands of moving pieces and any number of things can go wrong. There will undoubtedly be a hiccup or two during the conference, but with any luck all of the planning and hard work will pay off, forty startups will get the launch event they deserve and another hundred will get to show their stuff to nearly 1,000 people.
See you Monday! If you are attending, look for additional logistical details and announcements on the TechCrunch40 blog.
Very cool - this is what Dawn and some others were discussing on the TC40 blog.
giving tokens - then the 40th spot - to a demo booth is an amazing marketing move!
- I was doing some (dumb) math @ $2,500 * 900 people is that 2.2 mill?
damn - Plus lets say atleast $2,000 for the other 100 (+200k)
- you are now officially a grown ass man -.rb
I am curious to see what that “Next Generation” concept will be. IMHO Social Networking is the thing of past (seeing pathetic social networking concepts). I hope I will not be dis-appointed, not that I have much credibility either ;-). Have had enough of P2P too and Portal is not going anywhere.
I am seeing TV/WWW becoming one (”Wii will rule”), Interactivity and Virtualization will be everyday talk.
I am really looking forward to something groundbreaking and not just another Web 2.0 and Social Networking gimmick
Prakash
Wish I could be there. Maybe next year.
I remember the TechCrun party at BED NY.
It was great..and most of all I got to meet Mike Arrington in person.
Well…that was the time…when startups could afford to be a part of techcrunch party.
All the best guys.
http://www.jhatak.com [Internet web meeting]
http://www.imageblox.com [ Image hosting ]
http://www.uwebcertify.com [ Education testing and employment validation]
So the 100 demo pit companies are expected to prepare presentations even though they only have a 1% chance of getting selected???
If a company gets selected and they don’t have a a presentation ready, they will look silly and miss out on a huge opportunity. If they do prepare a presentation, odds are it will be a complete waste of time.
Michael, you of all people should understand that those 100 companies are startups. They are some of the busiest, hardest working people you will ever meet. Please respect their time.
hey guys, how can i start up join this party? at least for next year.
thanks
on to this stage - a star-tup is born…lol.
who will be the one co. that will rise above and beyond all the other failing craps, we’ll see - only time will tell.
@ Josh
Don’t be ridiculous. Arrington isn’t forcing these pit companies to come, and he certainly isn’t forcing them to present. I agree — it will be a surprise for whichever company is picked. But, if its founders are any good, they should be able to put together a compelling and informative pitch on the spot. That’s what happens when you’ve been working so hard on your product(s) for months or years, and that’s what entrepreneurship is all about. And it’s definitely a nice PR move for the attendees…
@Noah
Sure, the founders of the selected company should know their business inside and out, but that doesn’t mean their presentation will be anywhere near the same caliber as the 39 other companies on stage that have had weeks to prepare. For many of the 100, this is the biggest opportunity they have had in the life of their company. They can’t afford to just “wing it”.
I’m the keynote speaker, right?
Why are you people taking soooo long to send me my invite?
I like a little suspense as much as the other guy, but this is getting a little ridiculous!
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
Can’t wait to see what’s coming out of all of this. But congrats to all the participants.
Ok Mike, you have Marc Andreessen, David Filo, Chad Hurley, Michael Moritz and Mark Zuckerberg. Jason Calacanis . What’s missing is the Google guys here…
http://productmanagement1.blogspot.com
Michael - good luck on a successful event. I bet the place will be swarming with venture capital types and wide-eyed 2.0′ers!
Mike man, we know, we know…
Tickets are almost sold out, hence, if you’re on the fence, hurry up and buy one because you want a new shiny car.
Is anyone Ustreaming it?
@ Josh
Yes, the biggest opportunity in the life of their company. And they wouldn’t have it without this special deal for the pit companies. Arrington is putting them in a high-pressure situation for sure, but they would be no worse off without their presentation opportunity — I think we both agree they are much better off with it, in fact. Plus, the whole crowd will know what their situation is, and everyone will already be familiar and primed to love them (their having won the popular vote). That I think is actually even more valuable than lots of prep time…
Sounds awesome — wish I could go.
I agree with Noah. The pit company chosen to be the 40th presenter will already be an attendee favorite.
Plus no matter what the caliber of their slides…they will no doubt have numerous VC’s and or angels contacting them during and after the conference.
Finally…all Ceo’s should have a slide set and a well honed elevator speech about their company ready to go at a moments notice. You could be on the plane, at lunch, at a Chicago Bears game…wherever…when the moment might come up for you to present your business model and idea to a potential investor and as a result any CEO worth his/her salt would always be ready.
Best of luck with the conf, looking forward to seeing how it goes.
Jeez, how can you a-holes afford the tix?
What about us geeks who STILL live in our Mom’s basements?
What about US, Mikey?
Json - I agree, those ticket prices are a clear sign that they only want seasoned professionals or funded companies attending, normal people cant realistically afford them. Could the Google guys afford those tickets while they were still working in a garage? Would Steve Jobs have sold his VW bus to get into TC40? Or is Arrington & Co. naive enough to think that the next groundbreaking idea will come from established insiders? Or, better yet, is it a great way to cash in on the industry’s good fortune (2mil+ ticket sales)?
I just love it when Mike censures comments; especially mine.
like my spell checker too Mike? LOL
Congrats on the (apparent) success. I’m sure it will be an exciting event, but frankly it all seems too much. I’d imagine the value to attendees is actually reduced with each added presenter and demonstrator. I’m all for the populist “no pay to play” approach, but if I were an attendee, I’d hate to feel I was leaving having missed something good. With these numbers, attendees will only be able to absorb so much. Anyway, good luck.
hey mike, how can someone sign up to launch their website next year?
thanks
see ya in the demo pit!
Could it be….
http://Sleep.FM - The Social Alarm Clock (wake to your friends’ voicemail or audio files they sent you ) ? It’s a social network that is revolutionizing the alarm clock and creating a new form of Internet communication! Pick a wake up time and a bedroom to start enjoying this new communication!
We’ll see….
1 ticket at regular price still available..
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/tix/422801562.html