SF Beta

Our company presented/​pitched at one of these events. The only outcome was we were flooded with requests from other vendors. This was poorly setup, poorly executed. They ran out of water, the room was hot and stuffy.

SF Beta falsely advertises its events as mixers/​networking events in addition to being demo events. Actually, it’s pretty much entirely demo related and that’s what SF Beta should call it. I believe the group over-​promotes the events by calling them mixers and networking events when they offer none of that.
Unless I’m mistaken or perhaps I don’t go to enough demo fairs (I have been to ones organized by the large Silicon Valley Startup: Idea to IPO and Startup Socials), mixers and networking events are where you actually meet people and network, exchange business cards and follow up.
I went to an SF Beta event a few months ago on the basis of it presenting good networking opportunities and in paying $ 25 to get in (I believe that was the cost), I believe the cost was really too expensive for the actual event. There should have been a $ 5 – 10 admission fee. There were NO networking opportunities and when you tried to mingle with others, no one had his/​her own name tag so it was difficult to figure out which person of interest was worth chatting with. Networking events typically have name tags because that makes better and more meaningful networking. As a result, most people were in their own groups or chatting but not really engaging much people they don’t already know who didn’t demo their product at SF Beta.
SF Beta and others in the tech industry seem to be in a warped world with regards to mixers and networking events. The reason why people go to them is to develop connections valuable for them in their careers, life, etc. Thankfully, there are better networking events like Network After Work out there.

This event is a mixer for developers, investors, founders, lawyers, and all fans of the tech industry.
It’s $ ¹⁰⁄₁₅ for developers, investors, designers, students etc, and $ ²⁰⁄₂₅ for everyone else. They have cheap drinks, and they advertise food… but by 6:30 all the food was gone.
The developers that were demo’ing their products weren’t hardly worth listening to. This event sounded so much cooler than the website hypes it up. The concept is cool, the execution could be way better… and WTF does my $ 25 go toward??? Unless you’re in the tech industry looking for a hot new item, or a developer/​designer showing off your new product, this event is a waste of time and money.