Online event planning and invitation platform Evite was on the forefront of innovation—ten years ago. TechCrunch50 startup Cocodot is hoping to be the Evite of this generation of web technology, serving a style-conscious, eco-friendly event platform that people and brands can use to create an online presence for celebrations.
Cocodot’s platform, which is targeted towards women, is a one-stop-shop for event planning and invitations. You can create a high resolution, chic, stylish invitation (that can be printed as well), a vertical event pages, guest management tools, seating charts, and a directory for event planning vendors. When you create event, you can build an event homepage that aims to be a social conversation hub. Once you create an invitation, you can import your contact lists from Yahoo, Gmail, AOL and other contact managers and email services. Cocodot also lets you send links to the event homepage and invitation to Facebook, directly from the platform.
Cocodot is also getting into the online greeting space, letting user create a simple “happy birthday” or “Thank you” online card. The graphics and styles are actually pretty impressive. Users can adjust color and text, move the graphics and text and even offers a “copy concierge” to help people think of thoughtful sayings.
Unsurprisingly, Cocodot is going after the wedding industry by providing high-end printable online invitations and a event management platform. Cocodot also lets you embed custom event widgets on other sites and features a variety of design-friendly templates. Cocodot plans to make money from subscriptions and per use fees and will sell virtual goods. The startup is also positioning itself to be eco-friendly, by saving paper from sending out invitations. Cocodot will make money via ad revenue, premium features, virtual gifts and through product lines and licensing designs.
Cocodot was launched by former MySpace CMO Shawn Gold and raised just under $1 million of seed funding earlier this summer from investors like Anthem Venture Partners and William Morris’ Mail Room Fund.
Cocodot is similar to Pinng, which we wrote about here.
Expert Panel Q&A (paraphrased)
The experts: Satish Dharmaraj, Lior Zorea, Bradley Horowitz, Tim O’Reilly, Kevin Rose
BH: I don’t want to like this but I think the world needs this. The exisiting invitation tools are not sufficient and this could take off.
TO: You think about a company like Hallmark, its a huge business opportunity, and I think you are thinking like a business, will probably be successful.
SD: I think you should try to differentiate yourself a little more. What happens after the event is booked?
LZ: I like what you guys are doing. How do you get consumer mind share out ther for the product, particularly in teh case of weddings.
A: Every invitation is virally marketed because its branded with Cocodut. We are going to do partnerships with other sites like DailyCandy and pursue a revenue share. We are going after PR agencies and companies that don’t like Evite and are using PDF’s, not taking advantage of he efficiencies in the digital medium.
Images:
Video:
Outside Coverage:
Cocodot – For Overdoing Invitations #tc50 techgeist.
Cocodot creates a slicker version of Evite VentureBeat.
TechCrunch50: A ‘Elegant’ Evite and More Subscription Services AppScout.
Is there a TC promo code?
“techcrunch50″ is the code
Did he just say that their not going after Evite????
Does the Ustream video only play audio for you?
This seems to be focused on consumer but businesses and associations use evite too and it is boring and unsophisticated. As a marketing professional I see good application in the B2B space for corporate events and meetings. Please provide some invitation graphics that would be appropriate for business meetings. Businesses can place agendas, whitepapers, contacts etc. on the event page and could use the facebook photots to build interest based on who is coming.
there is overlap with evite but we are going after those who spend $50 or more per person on an event (who tend to print only now) or those who are really concerned with the style and image of the event, who are not using evite.
Paperlesspost.com is already doing elegant online invitations, though without the “social media” components, whatever they are.
BTW, for a site that targets women, you may want to stop coming across as such an ass. “If you give it as gift to your wife you will definitely get lucky” – Shawn Gold. “Does this card make my ass look big?” – Shawn Gold. Great, Shawn. Way to appeal to women.
Wow…lighten up, guy! I am a woman who can attest that Shawn Gold came across nothing short of someone who has great insight into the world of social media. It’s about time someone came up with a solution to create paperless (+ printing option) invites/cards/announcements with tasteful aesthetics and consciousness for the planet.
Too much time is spent focusing on things that have nothing to do with what is being offered (like your nasty comment) and not on what matters. Let’s focus on the benefits of COCODOT and the sheet genius of it’s technically workings thus far and the ones that will be implemented in the near future. There are no other sites that have the technical or graphic sophistication that COCODOT has and my hat goes off to them! I say BRAVO and THANK YOU Cocodot for making my life easier and giving me an opportunity to share cards/announcments, etc. in a green way!
I’m just not seeing how you get the real world to care. Seems like another Valley love fest, throw some money at your friends so they can pay themselves then cry market forces when it fails.
I am part of the real world and I care. Prior to Cocodot, we were sending text email invitations with no RSVP capability. Cocodot has saved us time and money while providing a highly stylized, personal touch to our Private Wealth Advisory. Thank you Cocodot.
~Kat Ernst
Washington D.C.
What kind of name is cocodot.com?
we already connect users from all sorts of social networks for our events and promotions well before cocodot? copycat possibly?
hrm, evite for rich folk…. sounds interesting and all, but i don’t see it taking off. i do agree that evite is vulnerable to a sleeker, better competitor, but i haven’t seen anyone yet that fits the bill.