Keiretsu Countdown Timer - UPDATED

Jason has given all of "angel" groups who charge startups to present to them 30 days to drop their fees (starting from Friday's episode). We're tracking how much time they have left to drop the fees and announce on their site that they've done so. If they haven't stopped charging startups by November 15th @ 1pm, we'll be launching the Open Angel Forum to put them out of business. Stay tuned for details. UPDATE: Amazing News!  We've convinced Keiretsu to drop some of their fees!  Read about it at Silicon Alley Insider.  Still waiting on updates from the rest of these guys - the counter continues!

This Week in Startups #23 Angel Funding Showdown

If you're part of the tech world, you've no doubt heard by now about the controversy over "angel" investing groups charging startups to present to them (for full background, check out Jason's posts on the subject: Part 1 and Part 2).  So for this week's episode, we dropped the normal guest and instead had a ton of callers from all sides of the issues: Steve Bell, a member of the Keiretsu Forum; Mike Sid, a CEO who was hounded by one of these forums; an entrepreneur who's pitched several of the forums; and a venture capitalist who's attended all of them.  Check out what all of them have to say about this practice and where they think its going.

Of course we wouldn't leave you without some of your favorite regular segments too, we've got callers for Ask Jason & Jason's Shark Tank, and of course Lon is stopping by to read the news.

Enjoy the episode, and make sure to leave your comments about this hot-button, and important issue.

Remember, next week we'll be on early @ 11am PDT with Gary Vaynerchuck!

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Coming Up: TWiST Angel Showdown

This week's episode of This Week in Startups will certainly be one you don't want to miss.  Everyone has seen the recent controversy surrounding angel groups charging entrepreneurs for access, and Jason will be joined (both live and via phone) by a number of people involved!  Tune in to see members of the Keiretsu Forum, entrepreneurs, angels and more debate whether entrepreneurs should be forced to pay to meet Angel investors. You can get background on the controversy by reading Jason's posts on the matter: Part 1 and Part 2 See you right here at http://www.thisweekinstartups.com @ 1pm on Friday.

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This Week in Startups #22 with John MacFarlane

Live from New Noise Santa Barbara, Jason is joined by John MacFarlane, CEO of Sonos. Check out the full interview to see the big new products that Sonos has planned (or at least what Jason implies they do), how they deal with the complex legal issues surrounding the music biz, and just how big a system you can configure using Sonos gear.

We also picked a winner of the TWiST Review Contest - congratulations to the team over at Minority Fortune.  Head on over and check out their winning review!

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This Week in Startups #21 with Mark Goulston [Bonus #3]

Another week, another bonus episode!  On Tuesday, Jason was joined by Mark Goulston, author of his fifth book, "Just Listen".  Mark is the guy Jason turns to when he needs guidance on workplace issues and it's easy to see why.  Check out the full episode to see what Mark has to say about how to keep your workplace running smooth and keeping everyone happy (and productive!) Also, remember, we'll be live from New Noise Santa Barbara on Friday @ 1pm, so make sure to tune in right here.

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