And they're not afraid of "masking" the truth just to get you more invested. This is an excerpt from an email conversation with them after inviting us to apply for Collision:
Me: Is this REALLY free or I'll need to buy tickets if chosen?
Collision: The stand is free for chosen startups.
We applied and got invited and then we were asked to pay, but declined.
I'm replying to you but it's really to 3 or 4 of the similar comments. I can't tell what the exact issue is here. Is it the cost? Is it a bait and switch? Is it that the price is fine but the conference isn't what's advertised?
$2000 is not very much money for 2 to 3 people to attend and have a booth at if the audience and attendees are in line with what was advertised. I do agree with an earlier comment that you probably want it to be the case that startups are potential customers for you so that you have multiple ways to get an ROI. (Investors, potential customers and future employees etc)
A possible explanation might be that startups that have been selected in these accelerators have more potential to become successful businesses in the future (either in raising money or in building something people want). I mean, someone already placed a bet on them.
You get the free cloud for only a year. After that you start paying, and since you’re already there it’s very likely that you’ll proceed with Google. So, they’re not giving away anything, they’re just trying to grab market share before the competitors.
Me: Is this REALLY free or I'll need to buy tickets if chosen?
Collision: The stand is free for chosen startups.
We applied and got invited and then we were asked to pay, but declined.