The next big thing It is another year of downtown parties 3 days after CU graduation. Boulder Startup Week and the venture capitalists who are behind it are looking for “the next big thing” . If they can find one tech investment that will make them 10x their money,  all will be oh so inclusive. ( latest buzz word in Boulder). That is the unsaid goal behind startup weeks. It is not said outright but it is said in meetings with potential investors which have a tendency to not be inclusive at all,  but private.

Deal or no deal? A lot of 20-somethings come to Boulder  during startup week with their dreams and ideas hoping to to be chosen by “angel investors”. They pool their savings and show up here. Sometimes it is the last of their money and their fledgling companies are on their last legs. Most go home without a deal.  We have even had some apply for sales jobs here at Boulder Channel 1 so they could buy airfare to get home, or who gave up and  wanted a job just to stay in groovy Boulder. Admittedly , we like hiring those kids because they are all highly driven. Hunger makes for good salespersonship.

The Pitch Much of the week attendees will visit Boulder tech companies, startups, agencies to hear pitches by other millennials about how to be successful. They will hear the VCs pitch startups. It is all topped off with new age feel good politics ” community. vision, growth and inclusiveness” That is if you are a millennial and not a nosy journalist of any age. They don’t like to be reviewed or critiqued. Boulder Startup week is well intended with a bit of phony baloney. One example: look at what happened to Facebook, Twitter, Google and the Daily Camera this past month. They all went into upheaval over their hype, perception and reality. Journalism vs money. Privacy vs money. 🙂

Women marriage beer and party on Did we mention beer and partying? There is lots of that too. The crowd is mostly young white male, so there is a shortage of women. The women who do attend have a tendency to work in public relations, advertising, retail, restaurants. Few woman who attend are actually engineers with a tech startup.  The complaint is that there are not enough women. One 26 year old women told us she found her husband at a pitch session. He was a 27 year old millionaire who created a few hot aps. They met and a year later got married. She’s happy, he’s happy and her parents are really happy. Her father told us, “thank God she met an engineer.. and not like my other daughter who married a drug addict musician. ” Yup, Boulder Startup Week is a great place to find a husband though they wouldn’t be so gosh as to say it.

Jobs: Some people have told us they come to startup week hoping to find a job, but the chances are nil unless you are an engineer or a coder. PR jobs are a dime a dozen in Boulder so none are available. Many millennial techies think sales is beneath them, but there is a lot of money  in sales and everyone is always looking for a good sales rep including us.  Much emphasis is put on entrepreneurship but not on being a good employee. One women told us “she grew up in Boulder , went to college ,moved to Denver and could not find any jobs,. She came to Boulder Startup Week but there were no jobs. She was disappointed because they had a jobs table and job fair. But there wre no jobs for a film maker, on camera talent and writer. If you can’t code don’t bother applying.

But what is Boulder startup week really about?? It is about the next investment for Boulder Angel investors and VCs and it is a closed shop. You have to look the part, act the part, talk the part scripted to a Tee and then maybe if you are lucky a pittance will be thrown your way. Most start up ventures fail. Estimates that 8 out of 9 Boulder Startups never make it out of angel stage. That is never publicized.  VCs look form a gem inside the disco and they usually find one. This new crop of Boulder business people would have you believe that they invented business investment. They did make it easier to show your stuff, but Boulder has always been a startup business community ever since the gold and silver days of the 1800’s. The next big Boulder investment is bound to be here at this years Boulder Startup week and it will make a bunch of people really very rich… ahh but we don’t talk about that either. lol

ps if you are looking for a job Boulder Channel 1 is hiring sales reps (720) 646-6131