Say good-bye to the 15-second elevator pitch. That’s what Dave Gardy is hoping capital-hungry entrepreneurs will do after learning about his latest invention, an Internet video-broadcast channel called VentureCapitaltv.com. Now, instead of rehearsing min-utelong summations of their business plans in hope of an all-too-unlikely chance encounter (as in an elevator) with a venture capitalist, startup founders can, thanks to Gardy’s brainstorm, record those raps for VCs to view on the new channel, which went live early this month. In addition to providing pitches from entrepreneurs, VentureCapitaltv.com aims to attract an audience through industry-related content and advertisements from service providers.
“It’s a time-efficiency play,” says Gardy, 47. “Entrepreneurs have their pitches down and don’t want to travel. VCs also lose valuable time going to trade shows.”
Gardy knows something about successful business plans. Five years ago he founded TVWorldwide.com, a Chantilly, Virginia, company that now runs a dozen Web channels specializing in such niches as boating news, and technology to help disabled workers. The private company turns a profit, though Gardy won’t say how much. His new channel will charge entrepreneurs $2,500 to $3,500 to present their pitches, which will come in one- and seven-minute versions and include synchronized PowerPoint presentations. He also plans to levy subscription and advertising fees, though prices have not been set.
Still, Gardy may face an uphill climb with his latest venture. “Unsolicited business plans are very easy to discard, because you know they’re just a mess,” says Sanjay Subhedar, a general partner at Storm Ventures in Menlo Park, California. “The best deal flow is through successful entrepreneurs.”
But, like a true entrepreneur, Gardy believes in his business. “Everybody laughed at MTV when it started,” he says. “Now it brings in billions.”
