[Live notes from The Next Web conference]
Bemba
This Dutch startup has a browser button plugin allowing you to share any content with your network on Hyves, Twitter or Bemba’s own network. Select the social network you want to post a page to, post to Twitter, has a widget, see what others are sharing. Useful for people who use multiple social platforms. Full API, Statistics, Delicious and Google shared items import. They want to understand what peolpe are sharing to generate keywords and URLs on which to base a portal. (Hmmnnnn, Reminds me of Digg but without voting – see what people are sharing, right? This feels like a commoditised market to enter though?). Business model is ads on Bemba.com, contextual targeting etc etc. Their better is the branded content marketers could seed into the network. Three experienced founders. (My pitch verdict: OK-ish).
Backbase
Backbase’s main product line is its Enterprise Ajax framework for building Ajax applications. Apparently they’ve sold 3 million copies in 80+ countries. They started off talking about the fact that we’ve evolved from dumb-terminals to cloud computing. Transform your platform from a flat, dull one to a richer experience. (Pitch verdict: Ok, but overly detailed and over-ran)
andUnite
Based in Germany, this site connects users who do similar searches on search engines. The idea is to allow people to meet who have the same or similar interest because of the search terms they use. They looking for 1m EUR in funding. They think that because people post stuff online already that they would expose their search requests as well. So, “I can see other people who are searching for this band and then find them”. [Er, no. I find THE SITE where the other fans of the band are on and then explicitly interact with them. But the IMPLICIT searching I did to get there is not something most normal people want exposed. THIS IS A BIG FAIL.]
Twingly
We already reviewed this extensively. (Pitch verdict: Ok, but I’m starting to wonder why startups seem loathe to come across as fucking enthusiastic about their idea? What gives? (It may be that some do not feel confident with pitching in English – that could be it… hmnnnn – also a lot of these guys are first timers – they are not confident and don;t seem to have been coached in any way on how to present)
uberVU
This Romanian startup wants you to manage all your conversations in one place. Er…. ambitious to say the least. Looking for 500k Euro. Ok pitch but forgot to say how much funding they want. Launching early may. Dull pitch in that didn’t really identify what problem they are solving., sorry.
ConfNetwork
This is a tool to facilitate networking at conferences – it’s in closed beta and they said prior to the Next Web that they would launch at the conference. But they didn’t. Er…..