Jason Calacanis on his This Week in Startups podcast has announced “J*had” (of course he is joking) to all “angel” groups who charge startups to present to them that they within 30 days drop their fees (starting from Friday’s episode). See here.
The dateline is November 15th @ 1pm, and if nothing happens, he will be launching a new non-profit Open Angel Forum to put them out of business.
Frankly, I think angel networks are a great thing for innovation and the economy, no matter where they are or how experienced the angel is, at least transactions are being done, runways are being paved. Charging a starved startup company a fee to pitch is plausible only if it is a minute amount to cover basic costs (as non-profit as possible), my feel is you do not need so much overhead to run an angel network to justify charging an arm and a leg. Screening and diligence work if done properly do not take so much time. We are doing it right at the moment with BANSEA in Singapore.
Am eagerly awaiting the outcome and always open to help with the Open Forum in Singapore. ;)