Striving4Zen

Pitching the next great idea to prospective business partners, investors, service providers and fellow entrepreneurs just got easier with Vator.tv — a new venture that combines online video and networking. Based on the proverbial elevator pitch—the notion that you should be able to sum up a new business venture in the few minutes it takes to ride an elevator—Vator.tv is an online marketplace for new ideas.

Here's how it works: users sign up for a free account. Create pitches for their ideas, projects or businesses by uploading video, images, PPT or PDF files. Choose to share pitches with a personal network or the entire Vator.tv community. The website includes tips on creating compelling pitches, such as how to pack the most punch into a three-minute video clip.

Launched in June 2007, Vator.tv has some big names behind it, including angel investors Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Richard Rosenblatt, former Chairman of MySpace, and Georges Harik, a former Google executive who helped build Google's AdSense technology.

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Labels: entrepreneur, great idea, innovative, Vator.TV

Early last month, when we first wrote about nvohk—an eco-friendly, surf-inspired clothing manufacturer—we noted it was a good example of a crowd-funded business model. Hoping to build a brand from scratch, the Los Angeles-based company launched a drive to recruit 5,000 “owner managers” who will each contribute USD 50 annually. In exchange they’ll get a voice in deciding everything from the clothing styles to the advertising of nvohk’s line of environmentally responsible clothing. Plus, they’ll receive discounts along with 35% of the company’s profits, the latter doled out in the form of reward points that can be used to buy clothing items.

Nvohk’s crowd-funded approach appears to have been right on the money. The company recently announced that 1,250 people have signed up to become members. An appealing and perhaps unexpected element to nvohk's approach is that the brand will be global from the start. "With about 40% of future members coming from outside the US to date, nvohk is a great example of how the internet and globalization are changing the business landscape forever," comments Brendan T. Lynch, co-founder of nvohk.

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Labels: entrepreneur, great idea, innovative, Nvohk