TechCrunch50 vs Demo: Tech Conferences Go Head To Head
By Anna Johnson on August 19th, 2008Two technology conferences will be going head to head this September.
It’s the 17 year old conference, Demo – the franchise owned by technology publisher IDG – up against the 1 year old upstart TechCrunch50, the conference co-organised by Michael Arrington, founder of blogging media company TechCrunch.
While Demo is credited with being the springboard for such hit products as the Palm Pilot and the TiVo digital video recorder, Michael Arrington created his conference as an alternative conference where, unlike Demo, startups won’t have to pay to pitch.
At Demo, the 70 participating startup companies must pay $18,500 to make their six-minute presentation to a crowd of investors, journalists and others. Meanwhile, at TechCrunch50, the 50 participant startups – all chosen by the TechCrunch50 organizers out of a field of 1,038 applicants – will be able to pitch for free. The conference will be funded by selling sponsorships and tickets to the event, and charging companies to demonstrate their products on tables outside the main conference hall.
Demo will take place September 7-9 in San Diego, while TechCrunch will run September 8-10 in San Francisco.
Source: Brad Stone, “Amid Conference Halls and Keynote Speakers, a Rivalry Forms”, The New York Times, August 18, 2008, Michael Arrington, “Pouring Our Heart Into TechCrunch50″, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, Demo
