TechCrunch50 (also known as TC50) was a conference held at the Design Center Concourse in San Francisco, California on September 14–15, 2009, hosted by TechCrunch and Jason Calacanis. Its aim was to find the best Web 2.0 start-ups and launch them in front of the industry's most influential venture capitalists, companies and press.[1] TechCrunch50, started as TechCrunch40 Conference in 2007 and ran for three years.[2]
In eight sessions during the two day TechCrunch50 conference, 52 finalists had the opportunity to present their ideas, services and products on-stage in front of an accredited audience and a panel of experts, who commented on the presentations immediately after they were held.[3] Additionally, 100 early-stage companies presented their services in an exhibition area, the so-called DemoPit.[4] In the weeks before, the 152 presenting companies had been selected from more than 1,000 applicants.[5]
In contrast to existing similar conferences, the TechCrunch50 finalists were not charged a fee, but selected solely based on the quality and potential of their ideas. TechCrunch50 was supported by Sequoia Capital, Mayfield Fund, Clearstone Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures and Fenwick & West. The entire conference was video-broadcast live on the Internet.
The 2009 conference was the final TechCrunch50 event. In May 2010, Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis decided to part ways and will not be hosting the conference in the future.[2]
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TechCrunch50 was created when Jason Calacanis pitched the concept to Michael Arrington over dinner in Palo Alto. The two partnered to create a joint-venture to produce the event. The event has featured 140 presenting companies and over 400 "Demo Pit" companies in three years, as well as partners including Sequoia Capital, Google, AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft.
Presenting companies included: