When Derek called me up on Boxing Day to suggest that we add OFFICE HOURs to Startup Grind 2013, he gave me two criteria:

1. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time. Quality matters.

2. We are trying to start lasting friendships that are needed to survive the Startup Grind.

Our mutual disdain for live pitch competitions was established when we first met, so factoring that in was already part of the equation. Like Mark Suster, it’s not that we think Demo Days and Pitch Competitions are useless, we just believe that they could be re-imagined to serve everyone better.

Here is our first step in that direction:

In order to qualify for Startup Grind 2013 OFFICE HOURs startups must gather 10 opinions on Cdling so that we can deliver a Cdling Rated Referral.

A few days before the conference we will send a ranked list of all of the qualified startups (could be few, could be a lot) to all of the participating investors.

To participate, an investor must agree to do a minimum of 3, 10 minute, one on one meetings with startups they select.

Once we get back the selections from each investor, we will introduce them to the Founders via email and let them sort out the logistics of their meeting.

We are not taking any fees for any of this.

Meetings can take place in a dedicated meeting room at the conference or after (reservation schedule for the room will be available through a shared google doc.). Face to Face or via phone or Skype.

The startup can be located anywhere.

This means that Startup Grind Chapters everywhere can offer this valuable opportunity to their local communities.

Only the best startups will get 10 credible opinions. Participating investors will get a free global stream of deal flow that will be valuable even if only to compare to their usual channels.

No “pitch competitions” or “who knows who” judging panels. Your startup does not boil down to the 30 seconds that it attracts in a pile of submissions or a crowded hall.

Your ability to connect with these investors depends on who believes in you. If you are an investor and you are interested in getting an alternative point of view on your typical deal flow and contributing 30 mins to an hour of your time to provide feedback to a promising startup, please contact me at the email below.  The list of participating investors will be published below.

If you have any questions please visit Cdling’s Frequently Asked Questions or email me at michael at cdling dot com.

These world class investors, mentors and experts will be participating in OFFICE HOURs: