As an EVA I was not particularly captivated by the Evernote pitch. While I found the idea of an “external brain” intriguing (being a person with limited space for remembering things) too much was lacking in this short pitch. The presenter started off by immediately identifying himself, CEO Phil Libin and gets straight into the […]
Continue reading Evernote falls ever short on pitch Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Evernote allows you to save, store, and organize anything from lists and notes to pictures, audio files, and websites. Two of its selling features are that it can run on virtually any Internet-ready device you already own, and that it aids in organization by allowing file labeling and tagging. Another selling feature is that the […]
Continue reading Hello… I’ve Waited Here For You… Evernote Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I agree that the the pitcher passes on a level of trust. I also agree with how your initial enthusiasm is not maintained.
This pitch is end users, not EVA people. It gets the uninitiated interested, in the way that your interests were piqued. However, the more specific things that separate it from its competitors (Livebinders and even OneNote to some extent) require more in-depth comparisons than what a 1 minute pitch can deliver.
I really like how they pitched the mobile device aspect. I’ve been an Evernote user for over a year and it can be useful. It does a good job of indexing and allowing users to search the materials you’ve uploaded, including PDFs. This is one area that OneNote is terrible at.
I think you’re right in your end users vs EVA audience. I think I went through the same transition as a viewer… at first, I liked the idea, but, in the end, if I had to put money into it, I’m not so sure I would.
Hi Doug,
Interesting and correct that you say this pitch is aimed towards end users rather than EVAs. The question is, however, would end users watch this type of pitch? It seems that the pitch, per se, is a business-type of thing that is generally not targeted at general public type end users. So, if this is his target, he should use something more video-like and media rich (like what you see on the website). If the pitch is, by definition, targeted at investors, then why not focus on what they want to hear? Show me the money, right?
Emily
Mcquaid,
I must agree with you about the body language of the presenter. Do you think this was a ploy to remain different? It always amazes me when presenters present their product as if they are appealing to inanimate objects. However, sometimes this is not a reflection of the quality service or product being advertised. It’s just up to the consumer to trust his or her judgement and do his own research before investing or buying.
Hi, Everton.
I don’t think body language was even on his mind. I think Libin was solely focused on two things: showing off the logo and cramming program information into a minute time frame. He did a pretty good job of both, but neglected things like energy and a rationale for why his program solves some hitherto-now unsolved problem.
I think this also reflects that the CEO is not a marketing, “get up in front of everybody” type of person. I suspect that Evernote, like many tech companies, has very few employees and perhaps no one specific as the front person for marketing?
I would agree with you that this CEO is not a “get up in front of everybody” type of person and not everyone is or can be, but I think that this is initial enthusiasm is so important in a position where you only have 1-2 minutes to capture someone’s attention. Of course it is not only this and a pitch must contain many other important things, but if this important information such as problem–> solution, how you will do it, and why it should be done can be pitched with more confidence it is likely to be more successful in that short amount of time.
Hi Mcquaid,
You are right that the pitcher delivered a comprehensive message though I though he only focused on what the product does. I also can relate to what you mentioned about his body language, I though he was a bit nervous. I guess we can assume everyone is their target audience. I initially thought it sounded like a personal digital library and then I thought, “with media cards, my smart phone can do all that” and is right in my hands, I do not have to pay to access the data I put on it. I guess I am saying that it would have been more informative if he had mentioned what they are trying to improve on or compete against .
Hey Ifeoma,
I agree with your post that the pitcher delivered a well-rounded message and that he did limit himself by mainly focusing on what the product does. I believe its important in a short pitch to include as much information as you can, touching all the key parts of what most critiques would like to see addressed.
The WeBook elevator pitch features a composed president of the company giving a 60 second overview of her company. We are told that WeBook would like to upend the publishing business by bringing writers together and using a community voting system to bring new books to the market. It is their hope to do […]
Continue reading WeBook: is it realistic? Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I agree with you, the pitch was very good and I too would like to learn more about WeBooks company. I also watched this pitch and found that they identified their goals and within the first 10 seconds stated her pain pitch.
I also believe she included lots of examples of why one would want to join her. However I felt she lacked stating why WeBook will become more successful than the current competitors out there. She did state good facts, but nothing really to make me want to jump on board with her!
Great find!
Hi Doug, you make a great point with “there is a large divide between publishing a book and selling a book.” I wasn’t clear also if WEBook is publishing print copies or mostly e-books. And how are they marketing and distributing their books? I’d be interested to know more about the company.
Doug,
I like your take on the pitch. It is clear that they know what they are about and aiming to get there. However, in typical advertising mode, I think the presenter exaggerated to some extent about 50bn dollar target. I can’t blame her anyways as one needs to sell their product with optimism and bit of sensationalism.
Hi Doug,
Nice one! On your opinion about the president, I agree. I also think she sounds quite confident and I can also relate to your mixed feelings. You have worded it well by saying, “I believe they greatly overstate the impact they could make” I also had questions about the marketing of WEpublished books and am not sure how long it took to build the capacity of 1,500 book projects and their growth rate is not mentioned. The President simply says, they are growing quickly- well how quickly?
However, the pitch inspired enough curiosity in me with their idea of “open publishing” to want to know more.
In terms of market size, I really liked David Hansson’s presentation. He effectively deconstructs the stigma of not wanting to be an instant billionaire. Why does WeBook want to upend a $50B market? Frankly speaking, those terms are rediculous. At one of my past jobs we were quite happy with trying to get a 5% share of a $5B market. Even that scale is usually risky for a VC. These days it is even harder to get capital. Wallstreet is tight and it takes fire to fight fire. If you want to topple a $50B market, you had better be prepared to spend $100’s of millions. Or be lucky.
SmugMug Elevator Pitch The SmugMug elevator pitch by Doug Macaskill (CEO) focuses on SmugMug’s competitive advantage and somewhat tackles a pain point from an eGiant: the CEO highlights SmugMug’s premium, part-of-the-club nature with no advertising which contrasts it with Google’s everyone’s welcome and targeted advertising. The CEO’s delivery is a different approach: he is calm, […]
Continue reading SmugMug Elevator Pitch Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I viewed SmugMug elevator pitch which I think is a very good product. I concur with you on the description of the CEO. I think that the background noise to near of the presentation was distracting which could turn off viewers.
HI Conroy,
If you click on a few other clips of elevator pitches from techcrunch, they all have the brownish solarized effect, and the background noise is consistent. At one point, I heard the timer start, sounding like a chime you would hear in an elevator. Despite efforts to make it seem like these pitches take place in an elevator, it is evident that they are happening in a noisy conference hall, so even more trying for the pitcher to catch the listener’s attention.
Kyle
I also viewed SmugMug elevator pitch. I agree that it is a very good product however, I think he could have focused more on what the future plans are for his product.
This never explains what the problem is… why would I use the product? Why is it better? Why not describe the difference in interface design or philosophy? Lumping BMW and Toyota together is pretty bizarre. Why are the photos “bigger”? Why is this important? Why do they look “better than anywhere else on the web”? Having paying customers sounds good… but what are they paying? What are revenues? More importantly, what are profits?
I reviewed this pitch from What I liked about the ThoughtFarmer pitch was that it has a good wrapper meaning that it starts and ends well. The speaker introduces himself as the co-creator of the venture right at the start which provides instant credibility to his talk. He then launches into a general description which […]
Continue reading Software Pitch Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hi Julie,
I agree with your analysis– his closing made me actually listen to it again as I found it to be a lot more legitimate when I heard the list of companies that are using the product. I would have suggested that he focus on some of the pain points of Sharepoint (sort of a competitor, but I understand SP is a lot more in depth a product) such as the complexity and difficulty with startup.
Thanks for the post,
Kristopher
Hey Julie and Kristopher,
I too was drawn in after listening to the closing remarks. The companies he listed that are currently using his product definitely made me think more about this company and his pitch. Although, he should as David already pointed out, begin with an exciting problem then move on to what he believes to be solutions!
In my view, I think you have given a clear analysis of the thoughtfamer pitch. As Kristopher has mentioned the presenter need to focus on this pain point and also differentiation. I also think the definition of intranet was not necessary.
I have to agree with the posts here. The pitch “buries the lead”… it hints at the problem (wanting to do social stuff while keeping people inside the firewall). I would rather start with an exciting problem (here’s what we want but here are the horrible consequences) then move into his solution. That’s the way I’ve done pitches… you get buy in about the problem with your audience, then you hit them with the solution. I don’t see the point of long lists of features.
Well I listened to it four times. Quite simple and believable. His emphasis on security and that they were directing it at persons who hate intranet impressed me. The inclusion of the web 2.0 features was deliberate as they intend to attract the net-gen cohort. This is definitely a venture I will explore.
The two pitches I’d like to deconstruct are Phil Libin’s Evernote and Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col’s winning Pitch This! project Kill Shakespeare. Evernote elevator pitch 2010 Toronto International Film Festival’s Pitch This! Out of all the elevator pitches I have viewed so far, this one seems most likely to take place in an […]
Continue reading Evernote and Kill Shakespeare Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
At first I was a little put off as well by the ‘gateway drug’ comment; okay, maybe not exactly put off, but a little voice saying ‘this isn’t for the classroom’. It wasn’t until I was going back through the criteria for a good pitch that I remembered the audience types. That statement isn’t intended for the learner, but instead the end-user (the teacher). It connects us to a statement that is cliché, but gets the point across.
I liked your analysis of both products. I felt the same about the EverNote presenter– he seemed genuine and confident in his product, like someone that I could trust and seek further information from.
Thanks for the thoughts,
Kristopher
Thank you, Kristopher,
Regardless of how the pitch plays out in the media, I also had to get over my issues over using graphic novels to teach literature. Some of the students I tutor have teachers assigning The Watchmen, Maus and other classic comics for English, and it took a while for me to warm up to the idea of presenting graphic novels to the class. With most other manga editions of Shakespeare, the focus is all on the images, and too much of the text is crammed into speech bubbles, thus making it a pointless way into understanding the play. The creative team on KS took a more thoughtful and engaging route with their design (modeling their character on movie stars they’d cast in their film) and has at least raised my interest in graphic novels in the classroom.
Kyle
As result of Evernote elevation pitch several times, I think your analysis this pitch is very good. I concur with you that wearing the company logo of by Phil is a simple gesture which adds to the experience he is evoking. Good point.
Thanks, Conroy,
It wasn’t until I downloaded EverNote on my iPhone that I realized what the image is: an elephant with part of its ear folded over, like an “earmarked” paper note. Very impressive how much attention to the slightest details went into this project. It would be silly to wear anything but the company logo when pitching to prospective investors.
Kyle
Thanks, Conroy,
It wasn’t until I downloaded EverNote on my iPhone that I realized what the image is: an elephant with part of its ear folded over, like an “earmarked” paper note. Very impressive how much attention to the slightest details went into this project. It would be silly to wear anything but the company logo when pitching to prospective investors.
Kyle
I think I generally agree with your thoughts on Evernote. Like WeBook, I appreciated the fact that he had a logo (and wore it). That gives at least an air or being established and serious. Edufire’s pitch, in front of a world map, did almost nothing for me. I decided in the first second that the pitcher was also a little crazy. While he got better, I couldn’t shake that first impression.
It’s so amazing to see how much information can actually be provided in just 1 short minute. The Video Pitch I decided to analyze is a company that serves to provide ways for us as consumers to discover new technology; they seek to help us learn more about these new technologies through there expertise. Pros […]
Continue reading Amazing Tech Productions Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hm… I think people discover things mostly through interacting with other people. Most of us are sheep. I don’t see the difference between this and any other tech website with how-to videos and reviews.
ok..what’s with the pen in his hand? To make it look like he ready to take orders right now?? Very distracting prop.
I was more distracted by the bed-sheet looking back drop:)
Again, I was distracted by the product itself. There are sites out there that do this already for us that we have come to know and trust (to a certain degree) such as eHow. Immediately in listening, I found it difficult to believe this presenter as he was not stating the obvious (either that or he doesn’t know about his competitors– that’s perhaps a little harsh though).
I also did not find the speaker trustable. He seemed to be a little green and not comfortable in describing the product (speaks quickly with little pause between ideas). I did appreciate that at the end of the presentation he talked about his team and the next step which led me to believing that they had future plans, even if he didn’t actually go into them.
Good find!
Kristopher
Hi Jenaca,
The presenter appears a bit nervous. I concur with bcourey that the presenter did seem completely prepared for his presentation; it was distracting with his gestures both hands and head. I realized from other pitches I have viewed that posture and eye contact of a presenter are very important.
Thank you for pointing the pen out! I completely forgot to mention that and the background! I definitely agree with you all, he does seem nervous and lacks stating the obvious!
Thanks for the posts everyone
Webook Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxY7BBJqKkY&feature=related It is always interesting to see the loads of information that can be presented in less than a minute. Seeing the story being told orally was amazing, but reading between the lines was even better. I have always been interested in publishing and new innovations that will drive it and create […]
Continue reading Webook Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/wat… Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hi Everton,
It is great to see your enthusiasm for this pitch, and how you were able to identify what works about it: the comparison to other successful ventures in related fields of Web services. As the pitch is designed to attract writers, and having a panel of readers evaluate your work may seem a bit daunting, but offers more feedback than the cold, heartless rejection letters most writers are used to receiving.
An educational venture analyst would need to look into how this literary YouTube could be brought into classrooms, and how does it change the realities of publishing books. Some could even ask the tough question of what distinguishes WEbook from other on-line vanity press ventures. I’d be interested to follow up on the potential changes this service has on the eBook market.
Kyle
50/50 profit share… and if there are no profits? Whoever is charging expenses against revenues gets paid. The profit-sharers get nothing.
Also voting on books… this is a “community vote”…. but a community vote of a bunch of wannabe writers doesn’t represent the market for book buyers. It may create an incestuous market of writers and buyers, potentially… in some ways, that’s how certain markets in the “real book world” work.
Not sure how this has anything to do with Linux or eBay. Linux is about a community building products on the source code of each other and forking when opinions differ. eBay is about selling to the highest bidder. Writing and selling is about audience, genre, and marketing… seems quite different to me. The true challenge for wannabe writers is learning to write to genre and market.
Good point about the community of voters David…incestuous may be the right term…I wonder if it is only wannabe writers that do the voting…it would be in their best interest to cast a wider net on the internet to see if the book would sell to a broader audience.
David,
The presenter was only making reference to linux in relation to how it liberates software. She was just try to show that just like those entities, webook would like to revolutionize the publishing sector in a similar manner.
Everton
Hi all,
I found this pitch to be a little more splash than content. The presenter was clear with good hooks (I got the sense that she used the big successful names as hooks, not as comparisons of the actual products) and described the idea well. I was left feeling like she was presenting an idea that is already out there in one form or another. Blogs offer the opportunity (when multi-auther functions are enabled) to collaborate and work together on a text, and also allow for quick publishing to the world. I didn’t see what made this product different except that perhaps by joining this group and publishing here, the author is committing to partaking in that community of practice and abide by its constructive rules? I might be stretching that a little.
Thanks for sharing,
Kristopher
Sorry, I re-read and realized that my comments focused more on the product than the pitch: it’s not that I believe that product is the same, but that was the feeling I was left with after the pitch. It seemed that she was more describing a pain point that the tools already existed to solve.
Hi Everton,
Webook elevator pitch is a good one. It certainly could caught my attention when I viewed it,especially the 50/50 profit shares and the procedure involve in the publishing of books. It could be a solution for students and writers in developing countries who are having difficulties purchasing and publishing books respectively.
I reviewed a pitch from 2008 for the search engine Duck Duck Go. Aside from looking at the pitch, it was interesting to be able to see how the company/tool has fared since then. The pros The description of how it works is really clear – “it’s like Google,” but with “human-powered” results at the […]
Continue reading Duck Duck Go pitch Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hey Andrea,
I really like the way your formed your analysis and sectioned it off through pros and cons. After watching the pitch you chose, I too agree with how you decided to group it. It is so much like google and does seem like it will save people time and effort.
Thanks for sharing this pitch!!
Jenaca
But how does he make money?
And do hand-picked results mean we have to wait longer for valuable results?
He claims hand-picked results are better than Google but why? I find the Google database is so large that I can often enter a natural language question and find forums and blogs where someone asked the very same question, and I get the answers they received.
When it comes to publishing, I think there is value in gatekeeping (see my comment on weBook for instance) but for search results, I think gatekeeping holds us back. Consider how easy it is to do research with gated databases of journals vs. using Google… which is faster? Which allows more intuitive personal searches without learning a system to do it?
Hello David,
I can definitely see how gatekeeping could hold us back. My understanding of Duck Duck Go was that just a few of the results at the very top are “hand-picked” and then the rest of the results are presented the same way Google does.
Andrea
Hi Andrea, I liked your analysis as it is concise and clear. Your idea about presenting CEO’s professional background and linkages to the product is necessary. It also is important knowing how revenues will be captured.
Hi Angela, I wondered if perhaps (like other search engines) there would be revenue from advertising, but he doesn’t explain that exactly. And if this pitch is also for end-users, suggesting there will be advertising is usually a turn-off.
Andrea
Hi all,
I agree with Andrea that the presenter was awkward in his delivery, but I would also add unprofessional– it is weird to have the cat cleaning itself in the background, clearly creating the sense that this company is not a major player.
Also, he chose an unfortunate description with ‘google-plus’ as there is now an actual product called Google+ that is supposed to (I haven’t managed to get on as they have been back logged for months now) blow social media and search out of the water.
I also had a similar sense to David– gatekeeping can be appreciated, but how do I know that I value the same things as the gatekeeper? What if what is relevant to the GK is not relevant to me?
Thanks for the thoughts!
Kristopher
Hi Kristopher – I agree the cat thing was strange! Yes, his Google + description would have been okay when it was recorded in 2008, but wouldn’t work anymore.
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
This has been mentioned previously, but not having any information of profits or how much money would be required for the venture is central for the pitch. And I agree with you that the awkwardness of the pitch and not knowing his creditentials don’t help. People need to feel that they can depend on the person to deliver what they are pitching.
Juliana.
The WeBook pitch begins with the claim to be the “next generation publisher” which caught my attention immediately in my interest in anything new and innovative. Her foot was definitely in my door and I opened it! The presenter took a secondary position in the screen (standing off to the side) in order to allow the predominant […]
Continue reading WeBook Pitch Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I saw this pitch as well on youtube. Great concise evaluation of their pitch. It is a great idea and concept as the book market is a competitive niche that not everyone can gain access to. You are right that she appear to be confident and covered all the basic requirements in under 60 seconds – made you want to look into it more.
I agree with your evaluation! I was really impressed with the presenter’s speaking style – her confidence, clarity, and directness.
Hey group member:)
I also saw this pitch on youtube, you did a wonderful job of analyzing it! I also enjoyed her comparison approach and thought it was a great way to draw her audience in even more!!
thanks group member!
I too liked the presentation style because it captured my attention but I wasn’t sold on the content after reviewing at it a second time.
If this pitch was targeted to the writer then I would give it higher marks than if it was targeted to the venture capitalist. The financial return she states is for authors and contributors but doesn’t speak to the value for the investor e.g. what does the investor get out of it. The pitch described ‘the what’ and ‘the how’ but didn’t clearly state the pain points in the existing market that justifies why this venture is needed. She states that WeBooks is open where the publishing industry is closed but that seems too vague. She also didn’t mention anything that gives me reason to trust in their core team e.g. is there anyone involved that is a publishing industry guru? Or how about an eCommerce guru? She also throws out a $50 billion dollar number but this is a red herring because their market would likely be a small subset of this. I’m guessing that the $50 billion industry is not just book publishing. I think that this pitch would be better received by the person wanting to publish a book than by a venturist because it tells me what I want to hear as a writer e.g. easy access, high profit potential, but doesn’t do the same for the venturist.
I have to agree that the pitch did feel more directed to authors than to a venture capitalist…was that her intent? To build the community of authors to the point where she can then pitch for investors showing the number of authors that have come on board?
Wannabe writers struggle for a good reason… there is a huge amount of competition and readers have a huge amount of choice. We naturally go with what we already know (known authors, known series) or what is popular (bestseller lists, books made into movies) or what is recommended by friends.
50/50 profit share likely means 50% of $0. Profits are only what’s left after expenses are paid.
Hi David,
That’s quite interesting. You have actually presented some of the thoughts I had but I must say I like how you put it. I was really taken in by the pitch at once but a closer look threw up questions. I too thought about the quality of writers, editors and reviewers they have, I had actually asked if they were all aspiring or renown.
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
Everton Walker 5:22 pm on September 22, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
A very average presentation even though the topic was rather interesting. As you mentioned, the presenter lacks confidence and tends to be rushing. I think he needs more time for the presentation. I am not even sure how feasible this venture is as reality doesn’t match up with his rhetoric when one analyses the what is being presented.
mcquaid 4:52 am on September 23, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good, original point on the security of info. Keeping information safe as well as protected ownership of material is something very important.
themusicwoman 9:25 pm on September 23, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with both you and Everton about the presenter. I am a huge fan of Evernote but his pitch almost turned me off it. This is perhaps a case where the merits of venture outweigh the presenter?