'Getting paid' and/or winning a prize is a very different thing from taking an investment. You don't 'win' a convertible note, you agree to give up an as-yet-to-be-determined portion of your company for it.

The participants will almost certainly understand this, but I still find the rhetoric a bit off-putting.

jonathon from ludlow ventures again... i apologize if any of the language is misleading. our goal is to be as transparent as possible. in fact, we will be posting the actual note soon... this way everyone knows what's being offered.

Probably phrased that way for "oompf" factor. "Win a favorable term loan" doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Might I suggest the a new terminology for founder favorable seed-round convertible notes?: "Yuri bucks"

edit: BTW, great to see an innovative startup event taking place in downtown Detroit.

Not too hard to fix and retain the oompf:

'Demo your startup to receive a $100K convertible note. Bring it. Kill it. Get funded.'

like that too. will talk it over with the team. thanks!

The event is Sponsored by Rackspace http://rackspace.com (Thanks, you rock!)

The VC 'funders' are Ludlow Ventures (http://ludlowventures.com) & Detroit Venture Partners (http://detroitventurepartners.com)

I should also mention this is a non-profit event

But if it's in Detroit what are your chances of getting out of the city with the money?

Because people are stuck up for convertible notes all the time.

> we're as transparent as a new layer in photoshop...

That has to be one of the most interesting descriptions I have heard for ANY investor.

I have no affiliation with that company or the investors.

That line was pretty clever though.

As a developer working w/ a MI based startup this is intriguing. Well see how it plays out but its an encouraging sign for startup's outside of the sv-hub.

if travel_cost < win_chance*100000 then go() end

DVP has a mission statement in investing in Detroit companies, does this mean there is a bias towards locals?

EDIT: yes you're all correct - the formula is more complex than that, I should have said that for many people (including myself) the other factors are an order of magnitude less substantial.

hey.. jonathon from Ludlow Ventures here. no local bias in the event. we're certainly excited to have the event in detroit, but the best company will win regardless of where they are from/located.

Even international companies?

Yes, International companies are welcome to apply and compete.

absolutely!

That algorithm is really only rational if the $100k in question is strings-free cash, which this isn't.

We are working on getting travel sponsors to subsidize these costs. The investors will choose the company they believe to be the best investment, regardless of location.

You forgot the risk premium, among other things. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_premium

So great to see that this is running as a non-profit. I think it's an awesome initiative and looking forward to the event.

thanks for the kind words!

Wow, it's like a battle of the bands for startups.

This would be a great premise for an episode of an as-yet-unproduced TV show about startup founders. However, the people watching would probably think that it was completely contrived.

I'm willing to believe this is entirely aboveboard.

But the name rhymes too well with "fly by night".

I'm not sure about a site where the word "transparent" is misspelled as "transparant". Good luck any startups that are attending!

Good attitude. Clearly, the work of someone volunteering their time for a non-profit is indicative of the event as a whole.

this looks awesome!

"Winning" a chance to give away part of my freedom?

we look at it as an opportunity to partner with and help grow an amazing company.

I feel a bubble coming on.

How is this a sign of a bubble? Offering a $100k purse to a startup is not unheard of (see TC Disrupt etc.)

This is actually worse that those prizes since its an _investment_ and not free cash.

I think this an awesome idea really works well for young startups! http://stuffbuff.com