- Hundreds of entrepreneurs take part in an event described as ‘the biggest fundraising festival in the world’
- While the event promised the presence of many investors, the participants were frustrated and say that the promises were not kept
- This meeting, organized in India last month, required the intervention of the police. An investigation is underway
Visuals showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk. The promises of the World Startup Convention (WSC) held last March in India near Delhi were great. We were also selling this event as “the biggest fundraising festival in the world”. However, the entrepreneurs present were quickly disillusioned.
According to information obtained by the BBC, the organizers thus promised the presence of 1,500 venture capitalists, 9,000 investors, and 75,000 startups. On the spot, Bherav Jain, founder of the company Reproc begins to find the time long: “The crowd was full of startup founders. I don’t think there was a single person who was an investor. »
The police intervene to restore order
While a virtual intervention by Indian Minister Nitin Gadkari is canceled, the situation escalates. Entrepreneurs ask for an explanation and where are the investors and the organizers are unable to answer them. Eventually, the police had to intervene to calm things down.
Questioned, the organizers of the WSC denied these assertions. According to them, they are the work of a group of disruptors opposed to the Indian BJP government. According to them, the convention went as planned following the police intervention. A version contradicted by many contractors and sponsors who demand reimbursement. For their part, the police say they are investigating the case and will soon announce their conclusions.
All things considered, this affair is somewhat reminiscent of that of the Fyre Festival which was the subject of a documentary on Netflix. Remember that this meeting was to be held in the Bahamas in 2017 and promised participants luxury accommodation and concerts from the stars, all in the presence of famous influencers.
Some customers had paid sums of up to 100,000 dollars but they discovered when they arrived on site that the site was not completed. Luxury dwellings gave way to aunts, while gourmet food was replaced by hastily made sandwiches. Chaos quickly reigned there and the Fyre Festival was canceled.
