A look back @TWiSTldn #3 – Minutebox
Josh Liu from Minutebox impressed with his pitch for his expert advice service, to the extent that Josh also qualified to pitch live to Jason and Tyler as one of the top 3 companies. It hasn’t all been a bed of roses for Josh, who cites on his blog a particular influence the latest incarnation of the Minutebox concept. It was back in 2008, when Techcrunch Europe‘s Mike Butcher posted this article, a fairly harsh critique of the initial idea and execution.
Many entrepreneurs, especially those who are so deluded into believing coverage on Techcrunch, however significant, is the be-all and end-all of a startups existence may have thrown in the towel there and then. But Josh was resolute and like any entrepreneur worthy of the name, was able to step back, reflect and move forward decisively. Read his take on how it affected his vision and determination to build his business. As a result, Josh clearly has a much more refined and polished vision of the product and has spent some time getting the execution right.
We’ll follow up with Josh in the coming weeks to see how things are going since his attendance at TWiSTldn and his appearance live on This Week in Startups. For now, simply enjoy revisiting Josh’s introduction to Minutebox.com.
Video courtesy of Coulter Media
Read MoreTWiST London Meetup #4 – 21st June 2011
I’m pleased to announce the date of the next official TWiSTldn Meetup – 21st June 2011.
In what is now the new format for the TWiST Global Meetups, it’s a London takeover! A whole show dedicated to the cream of London Startups, like GnuTrade, Tripbod and YReceipts who were all previous winners and received amazing responses from the event.
As usual, we will have 6 amazing companies pitching the room of fellow entrepreneurs, investors, geeks and gurus. The top 3, as voted at the event based on the quality of the idea and quality of the presentation, will then pitch Live on an episode of This Week in Startups, hosted by Jason Calacanis and Tyler Crowley.
Location and exact times are to be confirmed so watch this space.
If you want to attend the meetup, head to http://twistldn4.eventbrite.com to register your early bird ticket and avoid disappointment – they will sell out fast!
If you want to pitch, email steve@twistldn.com for details. Again, get in early as there is only 6 spaces for the best companies.
Watch out for extra news about the event here as well – This Week In have a new production team and they’re going to pull out all of the stops to make this the best TWiSTldn event yet!
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TWiSTldn Volume #3 – All London Extravaganza on This Week In Startups
Well, what can I say? What a show, what an event, what a bunch of great people, companies and ideas.
And what a response. It’s fair to say that London’s selected companies did us proud, when Tripbod, YReceipts, GoingGoingBike and Minutebox truly represented a vibrant and growing tech-scene evolving in and around London. I know Jason and Tyler were blown away by the companies and their representatives, to the extent that, if it were feasible, I think Jason would have pulled his cheque book out and invested more than once live on the show. I think everyone thought that was going to happen when Tripbod stepped up first and got an immediate and extremely positive response.
Surprisingly and rather wonderfully, all 7 companies – even the ones that didn’t get to pitch live – Iconic.fm, Adavengers, and UbiCabs (which by the way were also incredibly impressive) – were invited to attend as Jason’s guests at the upcoming Launch Conference, taking place 23/24th February at the San Francisco Design Centre.
Thanks to Taylor Wessing, in particular Guy Morgan, for the AMAZING location, with beautiful views from the 10th floor across the London skyline. Thanks to Mick Coulter once again for his help with the video and still photography.
I’m going to save the full autopsy for the individual pitch videos, so for now, I’ll just leave you to enjoy one of the BEST TWiST Episodes ever!
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TWiSTldn Meetup – 8th February – Global Meetup!
We’re back on! It’s confirmed.
!! The next TWISTldn meetup will take place on Tuesday 8th February 2011 !!
The next meetup will be a Global one. Taking place simultaneously with other European Cities, including Paris, Rome & Berlin.
So, if you’ve got a new startup and you’re looking for a soapbox and wanting to get your idea out there, look no further.
To apply, email steve {at} twistldn.com with your company details or go straight to the online video application HERE
The winning pitch on the night, as voted by the audience, will then get the opportunity to pitch LIVE to Jason Calacanis, Tyler, the shows guests, and the Global TWiST audience. You’ll be representing London against the winners of the other European Cities.
We’re working on the additional incentives for the pitching companies, but as nothing is confirmed yet, we’ll not over sell it. Even without anything else, you’ll agree this is not to be missed!
This will be a ticket only event – get yours by visiting our Eventbrite page. Hurry, there’s a limited supply.
Read MoreGnuTrade.com – BBC Click backs a TWiSTldn favourite
Back in 2008, BBC Click discovered what we at TWiSTldn discovered. Who said the BBC were behind in the game?
GnuTrade, the startup that impressed at the 1st Global Meetup of entrepreneurs as part of the This Week in Startups Global meetup, were featured on the popular BBC technology show.
Read MoreTWiST London Pitch 5 – GnuTrade.com – Social Gaming for the Financial Markets
Evidently, we saved the best for last. According to the votes on the night, Lieven Van Marcke was on to something special with his business GnuTrade.com.
GnuTrade (yes that’s Gnu, as in the antelope thing) gives customers a way to learn about the financial markets, through a unique and attractive gaming platform. Users effectively bet on the movements in the world’s most famous financial markets; Indices, Forex, Commodities and Bonds.
The movements are linked to real time movements in the financial markets – if you see the price of coal going up on the TV, same will be happening on GnuTrade.
Members can bet “pretend” money or “real” money. It’s the conversion and scale of transactions that drives GnuTrade‘s business model. Out of all of the startups pitching, GnuTrade was the most advanced. Having already invested close to £1m in development and marketing to date, GnuTrade boasts a £40 paid user acquisition cost, but a very healthy average user spend of £225!
Here’s Lieven’s winning pitch, prior to doing it all over again live on the TWiST Global Meetup show.
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