TIL I wasted $1,200 on a 'free speech summit' at my college that was basically just a fundraising pitch

They promised open dialogue but just passed around donation envelopes for 3 hours and never let anyone actually disagree with the speaker, has anyone else sat through these disguise-a-cash-grab events?

2 comments

2 Comments

jackson.jenny2d ago

Ha! Welcome to the club. Honestly though, maybe you got exactly what you paid for. These events are basically training sessions for how to spot a sales pitch dressed up as something meaningful. You dropped $1,200 on a lesson that will save you way more in the long run. Plus, the speaker had to pay for that venue and those donation envelopes somehow, right? Consider it an expensive but effective filter for future events you'll know to skip.

william_taylor2d ago

Blew $800 on a "leadership retreat" once that turned out to be a guy selling his own books for the whole weekend lol. I feel your pain man, it's like they bait you with the promise of actual discussion then hit you with the hard sell. My buddy went to a "financial freedom seminar" and walked out with a subscription to a newsletter he didn't even want. These events always have that one person in the back nodding aggressively while the speaker drops obvious platitudes. At least you got the lesson early, I learned mine after three of these things before my wallet finally wised up.