Comments for Venture Café

Comment on Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…) by Chris Myles

Chris Myles — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:48:06 +0000

Jon, leveraging Eventbrite or Meetup is a first come first served solution. Our goal is to make sure we have the right mix of people in the room… not just the right number.

We are not just a networking organization, we also need a balance of builders, service providers, and fresh ideas in order to make Venture Cafe community vibrant and sustainable.. to drive innovation forward.

Chris Myles
Executive Director, Venture Cafe

Comment on Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…) by Jon Roussel

Jon Roussel — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:46:34 +0000

The new model does seem a bit restrictive and it is not clear why they did not try a platform like Eventbrite or Meetup to require RSVPs and to control attendance. Whether the contributors will be more like “human switchboards”, or more like the connectors at Boston World Partnerships will not be known for some time. For my part, it is difficult to justify participating in a networking organization going through such growing pains that it cannot figure out how to address these basic issues.

Comment on Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…) by What’s Happening This Week at Venture Cafe? | Cambridge Innovation Center Blog

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:08:14 +0000

[...] Venture Cafe has started to implement their new contributor model. Members of CIC, C3 and Critical Mass should enter their affiliate code when checking in at the [...]

Comment on Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…) by Chris Myles

Chris Myles — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:09:29 +0000

Greg, unfortunately we are at our capacity and have had to develop the best way to curate participants. We’ve worked VERY hard to create a solution which keeps all the elements of the Venture Café community that have made it thrive. Venture Cafe continues to be open to all members of the innovation community–all are welcome to attend repeatedly as our guests (up to three times). It would have been very easy to create a true club.. invite only, composed of just startups, or just experts, or just those exploring entrepreneurship, or we could have categorically denied entry to service providers. We want/need students, encourage ideation phase startups to apply and want to understand their challenges to see if we can help. To drive innovation forward we need all of these elements.

We have physical space for 180 people and historically get what would now be 1/3 visitors, 1/3 affiliates and 1/3 contributors. We figure that contributors will, on average, show up every other week so we have allocated 120 slots. Our goal is to start with a modest-sized Contributor group and grow from there. We have a limited ability to absorb and support new Contributors, and we will do so in a measured/balanced way. This new model is an ongoing experiment and over time, we will analyze the parameters we have set and adjust them as needed.

Venture Café will still be an awesome place and we are working hard to keep the community balanced, focused and committed to making a difference.

Chris Myles
Executive Director, Venturé Cafe

Comment on Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…) by Greg L

Greg L — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:35:40 +0000

I’ve attended the Venture Cafe 7 times and was just made aware of this new model from my last attendance. I have come to see the Venture Cafe as a place to make valuable connections and just an all around fun place to be.

These changes concern me immensely and at least in my mind take away from what the Venture Cafe was for me. First off, a cafe to me implicitly means a location that is open to the entire community where anyone can come and hang out. With this new model, I think the Venture Cafe has become a misnomer and this is more like a Venture Club.

I am a 23 year old who works in the corporate world and is exploring the startup space. If there are only 120 possible Contributors and 120 people apply who all have valuable start ups or connections within the startup community, then either me or people like me (those who lack the proper startup credentials) won’t be allowed back in the cafe. I’m not sure this will actually breed more innovation.

Lastly, I tend to go to this event from 6pm-8pm and the people that I see recurrently can’t number more than 15. If all 15 of these people were to become Contributors and not show up on a certain day, then it would all be new people and the people whose application you had denied wouldn’t be allowed in even though there was ample space in the actual venue.

I may or may not apply. However, I figured I would voice my concerns in the hope that the Venture Cafe can still be an awesome place.

Comment on Credo by Venture Café Introduces New Membership Plan « When in Doubt, Strike It Out

Venture Café Introduces New Membership Plan « When in Doubt, Strike It Out — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:45:46 +0000

[...] Since the café’s inception 18 months ago, its mission has been to create a space where people within the start-up community can gather to connect, share ideas, and foster a community of innovation. Moving forward, the café wants to make sure that people who do attend regularly, follow the group’s credo. [...]

Comment on Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…) by This Week: January 15-21, 2012 | Venture Café

This Week: January 15-21, 2012 | Venture Café — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:05:39 +0000

[...] Announcement [...]

Comment on Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…) by Chris M

Chris M — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:10 +0000

Guess I only have 2 more Venture Cafe visits…better make them count.

Comment on Newsletter Signup by This Week: January 8-14, 2012 | Venture Café

This Week: January 8-14, 2012 | Venture Café — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:23:03 +0000

[...] Newsletter [...]

Comment on This Week: December 4-10, 2011 by Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:16:22 +0000

I was just told about Venture Cafe and looking to get more info.! Thought that I might check it out tonight and maybe bring someone else! Thanks, Jeff