Crowdpitching — an event where startups get a chance to get funded LIVE, on the spot with funds coming from the audience. While the concept seems exciting, it hasn’t really been able to reciprocate that excitement in the Indian startup ecosystem.
However Catapooolt, a collaborative online interface which claims to be a platform for those who “not only believe in the power of ideas but also want to be part of the change they wish to see happen”, is trying to bring the crowdpitching concept back to the forefront, and make it a regular feature in India’s startup scene.
And to do that, Catapooolt is organising India’s largest ever crowdpitching event in India’s second most popular IT destination Gurgaon, on the 27th of November.
We are event’s exclusive digital media partners, and we will be covering this exciting concept live, on The Tech Portal. There will be a liveblog, with on spot interviews, live pitching
Catapooolt’s Mission
The platform describes its mission as one, which empowers dreams using the power of crowd.
To carry this mission forward they have launched an India wide live crowd funding campaign called “LET INDIA MAKE INDIA” with the Kick off event at Kolkata on 10th Oct 2015. This event was held on a cruise and witnessed the participation of 15+ investors, 80+ attendees and 10+ start ups. A total of Rs. 50,000 was raised on the spot from the event attendees.
The second event of this series is taking place in Gurgaon, which will see startups in the hardware/software domain raise funds LIVE, on the spot, via crowdpitching. While you obviously can ot except the funds to be equivalent to a technical Angel round, but it sure as hell will be enough for idea stage startups to build their product and take it to the next level.
The audience will consist of Corporate employees, Angel Investors, Start Up enthusiasts, etc. Apart from getting an opportunity to raise crowd fund on the spot, the start ups will also be able to get market feedback and attract some early adopters of their product.
As for why you should attend, you will get an opportunity to have access to novel and innovative ideas. You can also contribute on the spot to empower any startup. Apart from this, try exploring the possibility of being a mentor, cofounder or an angel investor in the start up you like or help them in any other way you can.
To sum it up, its an attempt to bring something like a KickStarter, live on stage. While the task is daunting in the Indian scheme of things, it might just serve as a fresh avenue in India’s rather traditional startup funding scenario.
And yes, since we are covering the event LIVE, expect to have a nice startup chat with us too ! Cheers ! See you there !
