Ryan Carson has criticized Web Mission o8, arguing that:
I believe the intention for Web Mission was great – networking and exposure for UK web start-ups. That’s fab, but here’s the problem – this project is declaring to the whole world, loud and clear, “We don’t have what it takes over here.”
I’ve attended a number of UK startup style events and meetings yet I rarely come across professionals. This is tragic. Professional accountants have a wealth of knowledge and understanding about funding new ventures so why are they not in the thick of it, helping entrepreneurs find appropriate funding? Part of the answer lays in the fact that startups represent risk with which professionals feel uncomfortable. Instead of being there at the right time, professionals are often brought in when things are not going according to plan. That’s too late.
If professionals were in at the beginning, then the lunacy of housing the team at the Clift would have been avoided. It’s a fantastic location (I’ve stayed there) but is it necessary? What message does it send cash strapped startups to be putting them in a hotel where the table charge for a bottle of vodka is $375? Right now, the trip looks more like a glorified beano. I sincerely hope they come away with more than an expensive hangover.
UPDATE: The startup people have been wheeled off to Oracle. Here’s what one person thinks of the show so far. It’s not pretty:
