I get the question of “why didn’t you include my event?” often enough that I decided to write my selection process so I don’t have to repeat myself.
First and foremost, the StartupDigest is a curated email newsletter of local events. Curation involves selecting a small number of events from a much larger pool and I think this is where the confusion lies. For each issue of the digest that contains 5 – 7 events, I’ve combed through upwards of 50 events for that week. So with those numbers in mind, it’s obvious that not everyone’s event will be included.
So what do I look for in selecting an event for the week’s StartupDigest? Here are the guidelines I follow:
- Is there a topic? Nothing is less interesting or engaging than an event with no agenda. I need to understand what’s going to be discussed. If it’s a regular event with no published agenda (like Open Coffee), I then look to its popularity, location, and date/time.
- How interesting to startups is the content? Is there a specific theme, speakers with interesting topics, product demos, or a panel of industry leaders? My key consideration is what would someone working in a startup need (or want) to know about? Will attending this event enrich their startup life and help them move forward? If not, it’s probably not a good startup event. This doesn’t mean it isn’t useful, but a startup focused agenda is important.
- Is there too much filler content? What’s less useful content? I define this as anything that doesn’t give the entrepreneur the most benefit for their time commitment. These events include happy hours, general meetups without topics, self-promotional sessions from vendors, and expensive events (often courses masquerading as community events). Don’t get me wrong, all of the above can be useful. But when I start ranking them for entrepreneurs, they fall to the bottom of the list.
- When is the event’s date and time? For some reason, everyone wants to hold an event on Tuesday or Wednesday at 6pm. Each event is typically competing for the same attendees and they obviously can’t be in two places simultaneously. It’s hard to justify a curated list recommending multiple events for the exact same time.
The above list isn’t written in stone for me, but it should give you a feel for what I look for when compiling the StartupDigest each week.
Occasionally I will miss a good startup event and for that I apologize. But I hope most questions will be answered from this list of criteria.