Ask YC: To booth or not to booth ?

1 points by iamyoohoo 16 years ago | 2 comments

Hi guys,

We're working on the product for my new startup in the ecommerce space. No it's not another ecommerce site builder :) Our product should be ready in the next 5-6 weeks.

Our question is: should we advertise by having a booth at the Internet Retailer or shop.org conferences? Has anyone done this at these conferences and was it useful?

If not these ones specifically, what have your experiences been with booths at trade conferences or shows in your area of expertise?

Cash is tight as a startup and these don't come cheap so would love to get your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

paulsingh 16 years ago |

Don't do it. I've been considering the same thing for my startup (MailFinch) for a while now -- it's so tempting, but it's not worth it.

These days, here's what I do to "sponsor" events like these:

1. Give away a door prize. In my case, I give the conference organizer the ability to give away three of my "Freelance" packages for a year -- those are worth $300/each.

2. I tell the conference organizer that I only have budget for stuff that is guaranteed to bring me customers. I tell the organizer that I'll give them an affiliate commission on anyone that signs up through the special link I provide for the conference. (This is a relatively new tactic for me and, so far, only seems to work with the larger conferences...)

imp 16 years ago |

I think Eric Sink describes some strategies for setting up a booth for trade shows in the Business of Software. So it must have worked for him, but I think that was after he had a profitable business. I'm not sure how important that would be for a new startup. You've gotta get the word out somehow though.