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For years entrepreneurs and small startups had to take their great ideas around town, pitching large companies, hoping to make a deal. A new event is turning the tables on the traditional deal making.
SwitchPitch, a role-reversal pitching event, invites startups to hear proposals from large, established companies for projects they need completed and are looking for outside help. These events have been hugely successful in New York, DC, Miami resulting in $1.2 million in deals with 12 deals between businesses and startups. The first West coast event was held last month at the Ackerman Ballroom on the UCLA campus, May 22.
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“Finally, an event that gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to get in front of the right people and close deals," said Diana Ford, a SwitchPitch LA attendee and UCLA lecturer on 3D animation. "Built on the fundamental formula of closing successful deals, the SwitchPitch event gives large companies and entrepreneurs the ability to negotiate value deals from the outset"
LA-based startups have seen significant growth in recent years. Last year alone, startups in Los Angeles raised 25 percent more funding than the previous year, totally over one billion dollars. Not to mention the 1.1 billion dollars in acquisitions of LA-based startups.
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“When choosing the first West coast city to hold SwitchPitch, Los Angeles was an easy choice,” says Michael Goldstein, founder of SwitchPitch. “The proximity to the entertainment industry, as well as large technology companies that have set up shop in LA, make it an attractive place for startups to do business.”
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Local startups assembled on May 22 to hear pitches on innovative projects from five great companies - Boeing, Experian, HP, Sony, and Warner Bros. Each company was looking for pioneering startups to help with an array of projects from a complete communication platform, to gamification project, and few peer to peer sharing projects. A highlight video of the pitches and event can be seen here.
In total there were eight projects presented by these five companies, with a combined worth of over half a million dollars in deals for startups.
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Attendees (startups and entrepreneurs) had their chance to sit one-on-one with the presenting companies. Think business development meets speed dating. Attendees had five minutes to pitch their product and company to the larger companies hoping to make a lasting impression. Not just an event fulfilling the immediate needs of big businesses, many of the resulting deals are from introductions made at SwitchPitch, outside of projects presented.
After presentaions, startups have time to review each pitch online and draft their bids for the projects they wish to work on. Even startups that were not in attendance can register online to watch video of each project presented and place their own bid. Interested startups can view all open projects and place their bid by registering here.
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Startups around the country can look for a SwitchPitch event in a nearby city, with plans to expand to Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Austin to name a few. [ibimage==31898==Original==none==self==null]
