I hear all the time people talking about how they have the next million dollar business idea. Most of the time it’s in a casual environment over drinks, dinner, or random social gathering. Obviously this person doesn’t have their business plan sitting there in front of them. Most likely they aren’t going to crunch numbers and give detailed projections on the first and second years in the business.
What people may not realize, is this casual conversation may be the best test to whether their business idea is actually good - The Elevator Pitch. Can you break down your business idea and sell me on it being something that will make money in the time it takes for us to ride up an elevator?? If you can’t, then most likely, it’s not that great of an idea.
This is the concept behind The Perfect Pitch. The Perfect Pitch 2009 competition is giving the opportunity to business people, entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, or even students to submit videos of their Elevator Pitch and get a chance to get funded. At the conclusion of the competition, the top 3 finalists will present at The Perfect Pitch Entrepreneur/Investor Conference at The Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey October 26, 2009. To submit your business idea and get a chance to pitch in front of Richard Branson and our judges panel made up of investors and GET FUNDED, visit www.ThePerfectPitch.com.
Who will be listening? The judges panel is made up of heavy hitters from these investment institutions:
August Capital - $1.3 BillionVCFirm
Cal Cap Partners - $200 MillionVCFirm
Rustic Canyon Partners - $700 MillionVCFirm
QualcommVentures - $500 MillionVCFirm
Price Waterhouse Coopers – Business Consulting &VCIndustry Analyst
And of course, our main guest of honor and breakfast keynote speaker who will listen to the top 3 finalists pitch their idea at the entrepreneur conference: Sir Richard Branson.
The conference itself is something special to be a part of. On top of Richard Branson speaking, there will also be many different experts from the business industry sharing their expertise, experience, and stories on how they became successful. To buy tickets to the Entrepreneur/Investor Conference, visit www.ThePerfectPitch.com.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the participants in the business panel discussions we have put together for you:
| |
INVESTOR PANEL
|
 |
John Babcock
Partner - Rustic Canyon Partners
An experienced venture investor, John Babcock has been a partner at Rustic Canyon Partners since the firm’s formation in 1999. John brings over 15 years of technology industry experience to both the firm and our portfolio companies. He focuses on investment opportunities in clean technology, technology-enabled services, outsourcing and advanced construction materials.
Rustic Canyon Partners is one of the largest venture capital firms in Southern California. Rustic Canyon invests in seed-stage and later-stage opportunities typically requiring a $2-4 million initial investment.
|
 |
John Morris
Chairman Emeritus - Tech Coast Angels; Managing Director - GKM Ventures
John is both an active investor and an advisor for early-stage companies. He is a co-founder of the Los Angeles branch of Tech Coast Angels. John’s has previous experience in investment banking and venture capital with Sutro & Co., Wedbush Morgan Securities and NewCap Partners. John started his VC career as a partner with First Interstate Venture Capital.
Tech Coast Angels is the largest angel investor organization in the country. GKM Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on IT companies in the western U.S.
|
| |
| |
TECHNOLOGY & TRENDS PANEL
|
 |
Jason Nazar
CEO/Founder - Docstoc
Jason is the Co-Founder and CEO of Docstoc. Before starting Docstoc, he was a partner in a venture consulting firm in Los Angeles where he worked with dozens of startups. He holds have a BA from UCSB and his JD/MBA from Pepperdine University, where he was the Student Body President of both Universities.
Docstoc.com is the premier online community to find and share professional documents.
|
 |
Jeff Tinsley
CEO/Founder - MyLife.com
Jeff is the founder of MyLife.com, which was formerly known as Reunion.com. Jeff is experienced in building profitable online ventures. Among his past successes are RealityTracker, GreatDomains.com and Intelligent Business Concepts. He has also invested in several other successful companies.
MyLife.com is America’s largest and most comprehensive people search service with over 30 million registered users.
|
| |
| |
ENTREPRENEUR PANEL
|
 |
Steven Lipscomb
CEO/Founder - World Poker Tour
Steve founded the World Poker Tour with a vision to create a professional league of poker players comparable to the various professional sports leagues. His experience as both an entrepreneur and television/film producer enabled him to achieve his vision.
The WPT Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded company that oversees the World Poker Tour brand and various tournaments, programs and internet operations.
|
 |
Wing Lam
Founder - Wahoo’s Fish Taco
While surfing in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, Wing and his two brothers would refuel on freshly-prepared tacos found in roadside stands. Wing’s family had operated restaurants in Brazil and California. In 1988, Wing and his brothers decided to import the fish taco they craved and give it a unique twist. Wahoo’s was born. They combined the freshest ingredients with Brazilian recipes and an Asian flare. Wahoo’s restaurants became a respected brand among avid surfers.
Wahoo’s Fish Taco operates 53 locations (and growing) in California, Colorado, Hawaii and Texas.
|
| |
| |
EFFECTIVE WEB DESIGN & SEO - BREAKOUT SESSION
|
 |
Tony Adam
SEO Manager - Yahoo!
Tony Adam has been involved in technology since 2001, with a focus on Internet Marketing, Product Development, Social Media and SEO. He has worked with many SMBs, startups, and larger organizations such as PayPal and Yahoo! Tony currently works at Yahoo! as SEO Manager for Yahoo! Audience Marketing, specifically on the Traffic Acquisition Team. He is currently involved in creating SEO strategies and tactical SEO advice for various Yahoo! Properties.
Yahoo! is one of the world’s largest internet companies with a network of integrated services and over 500 million users worldwide.
|
 |
Jackie Peters
Founder - Heavybag Media
Jackie started out as a developer during Web 1.0 - her career went from there to screen design, to multimedia development and ultimately to building and executing communication strategy. In 2001, Jackie co-founded Heavybag Media. Her role is to develop marketing strategies that utilize social tools, community platforms, traditional and non-traditional media and technology in order to enable brands to engage their audience on a meaningful level.
Heavybag Media is an interactive marketing firm, which believes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and understanding how all of the parts work together makes it even greater.
|
| |
| |
PR & MARKETING TACTICS THAT WORK - BREAKOUT SESSION
|
 |
Tyler Barnett
Founder - Barnett Ellman
Tyler Barnett was recognized as one of Business Week’s “Best Young Entrepreneurs Under 25.” He represents some of America’s best-known brands and has demonstrated a particular skill in using technology marketing to drive PR campaigns.
Barnett Ellman is a public relations firm dedicated to firms interested in targeting the millennial generation.
|
| |
| |
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS FORMATION - BREAKOUT SESSION
|
 |
Chas Rampenthal
General Counsel - LegalZoom
Chas Rampenthal is experienced in general corporate, partnership, venture capital and securities law. Before joining LegalZoom, he was a founding partner of Belanger and Rampenthal LLC and was an associate at firms in Boston and Los Angeles. Chas was also an officer and aviator in the United States Navy. Chas is admitted to practice law in both California and Massachusetts.
LegalZoom is a legal document service company that helps people create legal documents, including business formations (incorporations, LLCs and DBAs), patents, copyrights and trademarks.
|
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 01:02PM ;)
I recently took a two week vacation from Los Angeles. It’s good to get away from home every once in a while. It rejuvenates me and when I return, I feel refreshed and ready to be home again. And though it was technically a “vacation,” I did get a lot of work done in my absence from Hollywood. ;)
The Las Vegas part of the trip was for both business and pleasure. I met with The Palms Casino and Resort to discuss the possibility of hosting The Perfect Pitch 2010 there. Their team was excellent in their presentation of their facilities. I was extremely impressed with how well they exemplified the treatment their guests/clients get. So we now move forward with trying to put it all together. The Perfect Pitch 2010 should prove to be a complete upgrade from last year’s event with The Palms allowing us to cater to 2500 people versus 500 last year and the conference being two days this year!! Not to mention, all of our guests will also be able to enjoy the entertainment that Las Vegas has to offer. It makes for a much more interesting 4 day weekend get-away. 