I had exactly this interaction with YoungStartups and Alex N.<p>We went back and forth a few times: I felt that "Over the years, I've learned that paying to present is perceived by
investors as a very poor use of funds, especially early on."<p>And he disagreed.<p>But my favourite bit was when Fred Wilson weighed in:<p><a href="http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/05/conferences.html#disqus_thread" rel="nofollow">http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/05/conferences.html#disqus_thre...</a><p>If I may quote: "Its nuts to pay to present."<p>But Alex was persistent: "There's no point of arguing but there's no doubt that he's wrong."<p>It's good to see the silly fight continue.
There was another post on hn a while back where some investor justified charging a fee. basically he said you can either be flooded with applications and not have enough time to give each applicant a thorough evaluation, or charge a fee guarantee them their proposal is evaluated properly.<p>I thought it was a good point. But I guess it depends on how easy it is for a good idea to be found amongst all the noise.
Jason would probably defend his manner as east coast shoots from the hip, no bullshit. But that's a joke. He's just rude and coasts have nothing to do with.<p>Passion is a good thing, and Jason's passion here is warranted, but the guy needs a bit of a filter.
Reading about that guy who left Mahalo last week made me think that Calcanis was a bit of a jerk. After reading this I have decided that he must just be really intense all the time.
Even if he's right, Jason proves yet again that being an asshole isn't cool.<p>I makes me sad that anyone feels this is an appropriate way to conduct themselves.
Are you kidding? $1500 probably barely covers their expenses. It might not be the best way to raise money, but it's hard to begrudge the organizers for charging such a nominal amount.