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Our startup got selected/invited to attend the fall 2011 DEMO Conference in Silicon Valley. We didn't get the free pass/scholarship. The organizers are asking for $8k to attend the conf to demo our product. We don't do social or mobile apps, is it worth it to attend this conf?

It seems they select 50-60 startups to debut their products. Out of which probably a handful may get press coverage. We are not sure if it is worth our while to plunk $8k at this early stage?

Anyone with a self funded startup attended this conf? What was your experience?

Thanks for any feedback.

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I would not pay any money to do demos or conferences. Not worth the time or money - walk away. – TimJ♦ Aug 17 '11 at 2:00
Thanks Tim for the input, my thoughts were gravitating towards the same direction.. – Ms. Founder Aug 17 '11 at 15:32

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You may want to read this post: http://akkadianventures.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/demo-vs-techcrunch-which-wins/

In general, $8K (it used to be $18K) is a bit too much to pay. I launched my previous startup at TechCrunch 50, and for $0, it was an amazing deal. If we had paid $10K, it would NOT. The same applies to DEMO I believe, with all due respect to the organizers.

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Thanks for the link Alain, it really makes a case for a free conference. Besides the pricing, are any of these confs worth it from time/effort perspective? – Ms. Founder Aug 17 '11 at 15:31

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