We've added two more judges to the panel of experts at the TechCrunch20 conference.

Marissa and Brad are two of strongest minds in the products space, and Google and Yahoo are obviously the two strongest brands in the Internet space--I'm just blown away that they are joining us.

So, here is where we are at with the conference:

1. We've established a panel of experts that I think is the best ever assembled.
2. We've got a date (September 17th and 18th), location (The Palace Hotel in San Francisco), and a website/blog (www.techcrunch20.com).
3. We've got two amazing supporting sponsors in Sequoia and Mayfield--and some really amazing ones coming online (if you're interested ping me at jason at calacanis dot com).
4. We've got a format: 20 company presentations with feedback from the expert judges, as well as some panels.
5. People are discussing the panels here.

Things we are going to get done over the next couple of weeks:

1. We need to invite the best bloggers, press, and vloggers to cover the companies at the event. If you're a press person and want to come you should visit the press page: http://techcrunch20.com/press-media/. If you know me personally feel free to email me and I will setup a ticket for you directly.
   
2. We need to select the 20 presenting companies. These can be startups that are stealth, it can be startups that are public but are coming out with a new, kick-ass version (think digg ver. 17, Twitter v. 2.0, etc), or even a new product from a huge company like AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, or Newscorp/MySpace. The key is that you show the product FOR THE FIRST TIME on the TechCrunch20 stage. Company presentations will be kept private under NDA until the event. If for someone reason you don't want me to know about it you can pitch Mike Arrington directly and I will stay out of it (I trust his judgement on these issues). If you are in Los Angeles and want to come by ProjectX and show me your project in person I'm open to that... jason at calacanis dot com. I really hope that we get some project out of left field--stuff that has never been seen before from outside the US market or from inside a school--or a basement, pool house, or garage.
   
3. We need a handful of media sponsors. If you're interested in that ping me.... basically you give us promotion we give you promotion.

the event is really coming together quickly and if you want to get involved let me know...

Today I'm proud to announce that Mike Arrington of TechCrunch and I (with the support of a great team) have launched the TechCrunch20 conference. A very special event taking place in September at which 20 companies will be given the ability to present their killer products at a conference filled with the press, VCs, investors, and bloggers.

Companies will pay exactly $0.

In fact, the companies will not only get to present for free they will attend the event for free. Compare that to the $10-20,000 conference organizers are demanding of startups to get 5-7minutes on stage these days.

Anyway, this really isn't about the other events--this is about the TechCrunch20. It's an event where the best and brightest are going to show their stuff and get immediate, honest feedback. It's not going to be easy, but I think that there is a very good chance that the next digg, YouTube, Iminlikewithyou.com, Stumbleupon, etc. will make a name for themselves at the event.

Some random notes:

• This is not going to be a huge event so I suggest buying a ticket earlier.
  
• Thanks to Sequoia Capital for helping us get this off the ground--you guys rock!
  
• Thanks to a whole group of sponsors who will be announced over the coming weeks for supporting this important event.
  
• Please do not ask me for a free ticket to the event if you are someone with a budget--buy a ticket and support the event please!
  
  
• If you're a blogger of note or a journalist there will be tickets available, but I can't promise anything. Please go to the site and follow the procedures there.
  
• If you're a startup company please follow the directions on the site.
  
• If you're a startup company getting to know one of our 20 advisory board members who are helping us select the companies is a really good idea. These experts include Marc Andreessen (Co-founder, Ning), Chris Anderson (Editor-In-Chief, Wired Magazine), Roelof Botha (Partner, Sequoia Capital), Mark Cuban (Founder, HDNet), Om Malik (Founder, GigaOm), Robert Scoble (Scobleizer), and Dave Winer (Scripting News).
  
• Thanks to my friends who have joined the advisory board already.

We will have other speakers and panels at the event as well as the 20 pitches--more on that soon.

Anyway, keep up with things over at www.techcrunch20.com. We will be announcing more details weekly up to the event.

I've always loved DEMO-style conferences (like the one going on in Palm Desert today) where entrepreneurs show off their creations for the first time to an audience of their peers, the press, and investors. In fact, in 1997 I did my first conference called "Meet the Alley" where entrepreneurs did 10 minutes presentations in the "demo-or-die" format (I gotta find the video tapes). We called it "Ready, Set, PITCH!" and it was a huge hit. The New York Times wrote it up... I gotta find that clip too!

Getting a presentation slot at a demo conference can really help launch a company, but the fact is that demo-style conferences have turned into cash cows for big conference companies and the small entrepreneur is now being forced to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to buy their space.

It's wrong on so many levels (as a lot of folks have pointed out).

First, the best companies would never be able to afford that fee. This means the most prommissing companies who need the exposure the most--and who the audience would most want to see--never make it to the stage. When Kevin Rose started digg he was broke--he could NEVER have afforded demo. When I started Weblogs, Inc. with Brian we were really broke (in fact Brian had taken a second mortgage to build the company!)--we could never have afforded demo. I suspect that most of the great and up-and-coming Web 2.0 companies wouldn't have been able to cut that $20,000 check (or $12,000 as the case may be). I don't think a YouTube, TechMeme, Blogger, StumbleUpon, or CastFire could afford the ticket when they were starting up.

Second, even the good companies that make it to the stage have to spend around $20,000 to pay for their six minutes! What a rip-off.

Back in December I was kicking it on Sand Hill road trying to get my groove back after leaving AOL. After a day of meeting with VCs I called my friends Steve Gillmor and Mike Arrington to see if they were up for a steak dinner.

Over dinner Mike and I talked about our equal disdain of the payola model, and I encouraged Mike to start a conference series. I explained to him the things I'd learned about doing conference from back in my Silicon Alley Reporter days. Our biggest conference did $2.6M and cost $600,000 to run--and we never asked anyone to pay to get their speaking slot. Of course, those numbers were during the crazy boom years.

After dinner we went for a long walk and smoked some amazing (NOT) Cuban cigars :-). Mike asked me if I would help with the conference and I figured what the heck--I loved running conferences, I love Mike, and our industry needs a conference that isn't in on the take.

So, it's with great pride that I announce that Mike and I are partnering on a conference series called "The TechCrunch 20." The concept is simple: 20 companies will present over two days to their peers, the press, VCs, and the industry.

All companies will be selected by a committee of expert entrepreneurs, journalists and analysts on THE QUALITY OF THEIR PRODUCT not their ability to write a check.

If two guys in school show us the next digg, stumbleupon, or YouTube they're getting a slot and their going to pay $0 for it.

If the folks over at StumbleUpon, digg, PodShow, or Odeo show us some amazing new product they're planning on launching they get a slot--and they pay us $0 for it.

We really want the audience to get 20 presentations that are just amazing. No duds is the goal. To ensure that we have no duds the selected companies are going to show us their final products and presentations 10 days
before the event, and in the case that their demo is not ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT we are going to replace them (we'll have 2-3 alternates waiting in the wings for this purpose).

How will we make money off the event? Well, frankly we don't need to make too much money, and we think the ticket sales and a couple of top level sponsors (i.e. one law firm, one tech firm, one VC firm, and one accounting firm) will cover things.

The details are being worked out as we speak. Here is what we know so far:

1. It will be in the San Francisco area.
2. We will have around 250 people at the event.
3. 20 companies will present over two days.
4. The event will take place in the fall.
5. We are looking for a location that can fit 250-500 people. We arehoping we can find a a University that would host the event, or an affordable conference center. Any ideas please let me know.
6. We hope to put together an advisory board of people we really respect to suggest companies.

How can you help?

a) We need a great location.
b) We need top level sponsors who believe in giving the little companies a chance to shine.
c) We need suggestions for companies who will want to break big news in the fall.

I can't tell you how excited I am about getting back into the conference business, and I really honored to be doing it with Mike and his team at TechCrunch.

If you want to email the "20 conference" team the email is 20 at techcrunch.com.

all the best,

Jason