Jason Calacanis – reporter, entrepreneur, conference organizer, Angel investor and Arrington Nemesis – is coming to Paris for the 5th edition of the “Paris Meetup” special episode of his web series This Week In Startups. He will be joined by his co-host, Tyler Crowley for a live-streamed episode featuring the “Shark Tank,” a fire-side Q&A, and, of course, startup pitches!
This Week In what now?
This Week In Startups (dubbed “TWiST”) is a web series on the web network ThisWeekIn, which Calacanis co-founded. ThisWeekIn also features such great shows as Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, a long-form interview show between actor Kevin Pollak and his selection of actors, as well as ThisWeekIn Tech Stars, hosted by David Cohen, founder of TechStars. TWiST features a wide variety of startup topics, with recent episodes talking about patent laws, The Lean Startup, as well as interviews with serial entrepreneurs. TWiST travels to several different cities, usually featuring Jason Calanacis making a skype call appearance to hear pitches from select startups.
So Why Do I Care?
Besides the obvious fact that touching any Angel Investor from California is good luck for your startup, one great thing about TWiST Paris it is track record for spotting good French startups. Previous winners of TWiST Paris (for this is the 5th edition) include event questionaire app Balloon as well as P2P food service site SuperMarmite. While most pitch battles in Paris are just an excuse to bring the startup scene together or give the illusion that startups are progressing, this event might actually be an indicator of your startup;s value. In addition, consider this the first chance to get on an angel’s radar – especially one who is notoriously known for investing on the spot in startups who appear on his show.
And here’s the kicker…
Since I watch Calanacis’ show religiously (along with about 5 other startup web series), I’ve been waiting patiently pestering Calanacis and Paris Meetup organizer Kirsten Winkler about the event for weeks. Finally, last night, I noticed tickets went up – Fifty of them. As of this morning, there are 35 free tickets left, and 10 ‘supporter’ tickets left. Normally, I would’ve dropped the 15 euro for the benefits of being called a supporter, but I actually grabbed the first ticket last night in fear that they would disappear before I woke up – at the time, there were no paying tickets offered. Sorry, I don’t think you understood fully – There are less than 50 tickets left for everyone! Get Yours Now!
Tell me how to meet Jason already!
So, here’s that information I should’ve told you earlier: The event is November 12th from 3:30 to 7:00PM at LeCamping, which will feature 3 select startups (apply here!) giving a 60-second elevator pitch to Jason – none of that 5-minute demo your product, lie about your business model, and pretend you have metrics stuff we’re used to in Paris.