File under “strange”…
– Chappaz: Call it “Dragon’s Den By YouTube”. Pierre Chappaz, the founder of shopping comparison site Kelkoo and former CEO of start page NetVibes, has started a contest on his blog, inviting two-minute elevator pitches in videos submitted to YouTube, Dailymotion or such like. He asked entrepreneurial readers to outline their startup strategy. The winner, announced on December 1, will get Chappaz’s coaching and his agreement to “participate in the financing of his project”. Sort of an extension of Seedcamp competition, where hopefuls had to actually appear in the real world. Can videos-sharing replace face-to-face meetings for VCs?
– Flatley: Irish dancer Michael Flatley of Riverdance fame (yes, that Michael Flatley) is one of the backers of a web music site launched this week. Audiotube lets users create and share playlists for online music videos (check the release for the kind of classic Web 2.0 hype that, one day, will hang in a museum). Flatley’s comment is far better: “I believe that Audiotube is going to be a great destination for people who share my passion for music and dance.” No specifics on whether Flatley is a big outright investor; he’s listed as “associated” along with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and financial advisers Montrose Partners of London.