Earlier this month we launched Elevator Pitches, a site for startup CEOs and founders to upload a 60-second video explaining what their companies do and how they make money. As I explained in the launch post, the idea is to create a repository of startup pitches where viewers can offer their critiques and vote the best ones up and the worst ones down.
The initial response was very encouraging. We got 50,000 pageviews in the first three days. But we soon realized that we had launched too early because the process for getting new videos on the site was just too cumbersome. It was all e-mail cut-and-paste, essentially, and we were overwhelmed. New videos didn’t immediately go up, and traffic trickled down.
Lesson learned: Don’t launch an audience-submitted video site without making it super easy for the audience to submit videos. Duh.
Well, that problem is now fixed. The process is pretty simple. Upload your video pitch to YouTube, tag it “tcpitch,” and then submit the video URL here. It will enter a moderation queue and we’ll be able to approve them and get them up much faster. Approved videos will also be automatically inserted into each submitting company’s CrunchBase profile (so create a profile there too if you don’t have one already).
We are still moderating each submission to filter out spam and inappropriate content. But more importantly, at this early stage each video counts—and helps to set the tone for the overall site. What we are looking for is a verbal pitch. No screencasts, no slideware. Just the entrepreneur looking the audience in the eye and making his or her case verbally. Props are allowed, but only if used creatively. More guidelines for submission are here.
Below are some examples of the highest rated pitches on the site right now, from SmugMug, mEGo, and WrapMail You’ll notice the last one does not have BeFunky’s signature Cartoonizing effect. That turned out to be another holdup and people had mixed feelings about it. I haven’t completely given up on it. But for now the videos will go up as submitted, and we may end up stylizing them down the road.
We’re planning more improvements to the site in the near future, based on reader requests, including search and RSS feeds for the latest submissions.
So send us your pitches. We’re ready for you.
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it is very good if you can remove the aniboom crap. they are distracting, and what is the point?
What is the point behind it - if all of the creativity is stripped away.
You could just have someone write out their proposals and upload it as an HTML or PDF file on a directory - for all to browse
What good does taking away the enhancements that make Video presentations what they are?
Also, not all presenters have personality or presence to hold attention - so do naturally, but most of those gifted people are in PR fields.
and look at the comments in wrapmail pitch, it is full of spams. maybe you should do something about it to make it more credible.
The website itself is a great idea. I think that whether or not it helps these people submitting vidoes is highly debatable.
Oh, wait, I just noticed that this is Mike’s new website. Wow, you guys are spewing a website a minute on the Crunch network.
Some huge software company must have kicked the bucket and made all their stuff GPL. wheh.
meGo = M-m-m-monster Fail.
I couldn’t see any of the pitches because youtube is banned in my country
Pitches on youtube are like pitches on nothing.
http://pitches.techcrunch.com/pitch/8-ugobe
Are these supossed to be serious or are they intentionally humorous?
Any chance of supporting something other than YouTube?
Maybe Vimeo? The pitches might be cool if they didn’t look like butt.
This is a great site, with some interesting business ideas. I know these are only 30-60 second elevator pitches, but aren’t these people asking to get their ideas stolen?
@10, that’s not the flv encoding doing that. It’s not youtube’s fault.
How do you think all those videos made it on there before the launch.
They taped a bunch of CEOs at a conference in front of a set of double doors, then put a video filter on in final cut or premier, cartoonizing them before uploading it to youtube.
They probably did that because the lighting was most likely very bad, probably because it was badly planned and thought out. You can buy construction halogen lights at walmart for $30.
Missing tags and search on the site,
@3, this site is about the Art of the Pitch. CEOs need to be good communicators and sell their ideas. You can tell a lot about a person by how they present themselves.
There may be room for sildeware and screen casts in the future. But we are interested in the people as much as their ideas.
“CEOs need to be good communicators and sell their ideas.”
Does this mean uploaders can’t simply hire a professional or good looking presenter and have them appear in it?
That’s the first thing I would do if I were to take the site as adding value to my company. I’d be hitting craigslist for somebody hot to read the cue cards.
That’s just me though.
U r TechCrunch so you can afford a oopps.. and be on TechCrunch again.. BUT those starts up out there… a lesson learn.. u only get to be on TechCrunch ONCE in ur lifetime.. DONT FUCKING BLOW IT… WORK HARD!
Art of the Pitch? Gosh that sounds awfully pretentious. So it’s to judge pitch? Sorry Pitch. Sounds like a really ham-bone idea if you ask me. Sounds even more like the TV show Dragon’s Den in the UK. Seen it Erick? I bet you have. I bet you loved that idea!
Do they get points for wearing pretentious British style glasses like you Erick? Where do we Brits upload our Pitches too? We don’t have elevators, just lifts. But I’m sure you know that already don’t you?
Total rip-off Erick!!! Almost as lame as your Google OS article. That will live in my memory for years. What a howler!
Wow you guys are really struggling to keep the facade up.
If you like listening to pitches, and getting involved in entrepreneurism, you might want to check this out… some great info.. http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2
I like the idea myself (although it’s not that original, it does have the benefit of Techcrunch’s exposure).
But, SmugMug is certainly not a startup. It was launched 6(!) years ago and is hugely successful and profitable.
I mean, they’re fantastic and all but they don’t need (or deserve) the added exposure, so why not let a real start-up get some coverage?
Their model was revolutionary 3 years ago, but today if you tried to pitch anyone with a photo sharing site you’d get laughed out of the room.
Never mind that, they use Comic Sans in their logotype! WTF!?
You should take that cartoonizing effect off of all of them - it’s really distracting…and makes it hard to concentrate on what they’re saying.
Investors buy management at least as much as the idea - this is good stuff.
(and if you can’t explain what you do in a minute or two - don’t bother).
JB
I have to ask, was this site created so to add more advertising space or
to provide information?
Also a tag module to find videos by keywords would be nice.
A good place to showcase one’s startup…
But i believe that a lot can be added to the current situation to make it a better place to showcase startups
moderating the files might add some delay to the process. why not allowing all videos to be displayed automatically and monitor them later on? if you find out that most videos don’t fit, then go back to moderating them before displaying.
i am saying that because i added a video very early when the site was first announced and till today its not displayed.
+1 for having BeFuncky’s cartoonizing effect.
I’d personall like a RSS feed for new pitches…