Attention Entrepreneurs, Get on the Elevator to Success

by Brian Solis

Earlier this month, TechCrunch debuted Elevator Pitches, a new service that provides a platform for company founders to visually tell their story. Until now, the process of getting videos online was a very manual process.

Elevator Pitches is a community video project that allows entrepreneurs to pitch their startups to the general public. Visitors then have a chance to comment and vote on their favorite or least favorite pitches.

Today, TechCrunch announced a much simpler, and probably a much more benefitial process for submitting videos.

Now, entrepreneurs can upload their video pitch to YouTube, tag it “tcpitch,” and then submit the video URL here. It will enter a moderation queue and TechCrunch will approve qualified content, much quicker than before. Approved videos will also be automatically inserted into each submitting company’s CrunchBase.

On a side note, the bub.blicio.us crew shot many of the videos that are online today and we’re already on the calendar to shoot more at the next big event!

Here’s one that we shot in Los Angeles:

Stowe Boyd and I also recently introduced the notion of the Escalator Pitch. The idea of the escalator pitch is game changing and powered by the micro exchanges that take across micromedia every minute of every day. It inspires us to embrace brevity and relevance in the real world to help people “get” what we do and why they should care.

Here are some quick tips for startups on developing the startup video:

Take it seriously, you are not above improvement.

Assume you have one shot at getting someone excited about what you’re doing, because, technically, you do.

Be creative.

Make sure to clearly express who this is different than anything else out there and how it benefits the people who’ll use it.

Get friendly feedback.

Rehearse your pitch.

Tighten it.

Evolve it based on reactions.

Share your story in 60 seconds or less, each and every time.

Shape it to include the key points specific to the group to whom you’re speaking.

If you can nail it on an escalator, the elevator pitch will seem like a luxury.

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