Scam 2023: World Startup Convention
Every scam has a story. It is the story of the biggest startup scam of 2023. The scam made a fool of Indian entrepreneurs.
I wrote an article on Oct 22, 2022. It was about World Startup Convention.
I was also excited about it. I purchased a ticket for the event for ₹4319. I purchased the ticket from Bookmyshow.com rather than their website. It was because I trusted Bookmyshow.com more than their website.
FAKE MARKETING
They sold more than 1,000 tickets. Every ticket for Indian nationals was ~7,000 ($100). They sold a huge number of tickets because of their false marketing.
They used a lot of internet influencers also for their fake marketing. Have a look at them:-
The worst part is that only a very few investors visited the event. There were ~100 startups. The figures shown on their website were:
Bambrew sponsored the event. They spent ~₹50,00,000. A video in Hindustan Herald was published. Have a look. It is in the Hindi language.
At the Event
I went to India Expo Mart where this event was scheduled. The event was happening in a small hall. There were not a lot of investors. It was supposed to be something different but everything was under a roof. Visitors, Startup Founders and investors if anyone was there were all present under the same roof.
Startup founders captured the event managers. Then the police came there. The scene changed to
The Reaction from Venture Capitals
They used the name of various VC firms. But in truth, nobody came. Their logo was misused by the organisers.
Only Ah Ventures has given a reply for it:-
FAKE MEDIA COVERAGE
The fake media coverage was the worst part of it. You can purchase anything. The paid articles can be seen everywhere.
SOMETHING IS GOOD
I booked my ticket from BookMyShow.com. I asked them to give me a refund. They have processed a refund. So, everyone who has booked via Bookmyshow should contact them.
Getting money back from the organisers will be difficult. They stated that the ticket will be non-refundable.
Beware of influencers.
Book from reliable websites only.
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