Just Ask
Looks like we’re headed to Internet Summit 2009. Here’s the story:
A few weeks back, I started listening to This Week in Startups in my free time at work and while I’m driving from DC to Raleigh and back. It’s a great podcast and the guests are usually serial entrepreneurs that have a passion for starting up companies. Also, the host is on his third company (I think), and is usually very straightforward with people that call in or email questions. One guy recently called in to ask about conferences and their crazy cost that is usually too much for students or anyone on a shoestring budget. This particularly caught my attention because Steve and I wanted to attend IS 2009 but really couldn’t afford the $245/person registration cost. The advice to the caller was simple – volunteers are always in high demand at these events and coordinators often may exchange registration for you volunteering to help with various things leading up to and during the actual event.
I shot off an email, got a response back in a few hours. Done and done. Moral of the story? Just ask for a break and offer a little in return, you might be surprised with what you find. Thanks to Jason at Southern Capitol for hooking us up with the right guy.