BECon'25 Moonshot : Hype

Sunday was supposed to be a laid-back day. After a carb-heavy lunch, our table drifted into a conversation about **BECon'25**. The buzz was real—especially around the **Grand Moonshot Event**, a Shark Tank-style live pitching session. The excitement peaked when a **2 PM email** announced that audience passes would open for booking at **2:45 PM sharp**. Within seconds, **group chats exploded with booking links**, and everyone was making sure their friends secured a spot. By **5:30 PM**, when I arrived at the venue, the hype had turned into **chaos**. A **mile-long queue**, security checks that felt over the top—**three full-body pat-downs, ID checked five or six times**. It was more intense than some airports. After what felt like an eternity, I made it inside, found a seat, and settled in just as a **space-tech startup founder** was in the middle of his pitch. He was proposing a **last-mile space travel solution**, flooding the room with **technical jargon and billion-dollar projections**. It sounded grand, but there was a disconnect—you could tell the investors weren’t sold. Then came a simple yet crucial question from one of the sharks: **"What is the impulse of your system?"** A pause. The founder hesitated before asking, **"Sir, what is impulse?"** Silence. The investors exchanged glances, nodded, and moved on to the next pitch. The final presentation was by a young man who introduced himself as an **IIT Delhi alumnus**, pitching a startup in **decarbonization**. From the moment he asked the team to **project his slide**, my interest faded. And from the reactions around me, I wasn’t alone. His entire **presentation** was just **one slide**—a plain **document with seven paragraphs** of text. **Title not capitalized, No visuals, no structure, no effort.** It looked as if he had **copy-pasted bullet points from ChatGPT without formatting a single thing**. https://preview.redd.it/xso7sil0qsge1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb4b68e85f3ba83f6f81e36d77573722e437b2b3 At that point, I started wondering: **Was this really one of the best ideas selected?** Let me be clear—I have nothing against the founders. I respect their **courage to stand on stage and present their ideas**. Building something from scratch is never easy, and facing a live audience takes guts. But **confidence alone isn't enough**. At the end of the day, a **startup has to create real value**. My frustration wasn’t with the founders. It was with the **organizers**. Did they **screen** these pitches before putting them on stage? Did they have **any quality filter** at all? If they marketed this as the **"Largest Shark Tank Pitching Event featuring 20+ Industry Leaders, Venture Capitalists & Unicorn Founders,"** did they put even half as much effort into **ensuring quality as they did into marketing?** It felt like they had **funding and a stage but no real vision** for what they wanted to achieve. By the end, the audience had **checked out**. People were just waiting for **Ashish Solanki’s stand-up comedy**. What was supposed to be a premier startup event had turned into just another **weekend distraction** before we all got back to **Monday’s routine**. An event that promised **big ideas but delivered little.** PS: Of course, I used ChatGPT to edit this.