Inside the 2007 Web 2.0 Launch Pad

The startup pitch showdown known as Launch Pad  is one of my favorite parts of the Web 2.0  conference. Hundreds of companies pitching to be the next new thing!   Just two years after Launch Pad 2005, alumnus Zimbra   be purchased by Yahoo  last month for $350M  ! This year, front man John Battelle approached a couple of us to take a more active role with the event. Here’s an insider’s view of the process, and the market trends that are emerging through it:

Behind the scenes

This year, Battelle asked investors if we would do two things: First, reach into our pockets to sponsor the Launch Pad so that cash-strapped startups would not have to. Second, instead of just selecting companies as in past years come on to the main stage and have a conversation with the six finalists, as part of an American Idol style judging format. (I am not sure who is going to be Paula, Simon, or Randy, but I am sure the companies will be outstanding!) The audience will vote in real-time to determine the winner.

We have an exceptional group of companies to look at again this year. We are giving the review process our best shot, but it is by definition a difficult and less than perfect exercise. Entrepreneurs pour their heart and soul into these companies, and we only have a few minutes to spend on sizing each one up. (OK, maybe I am Paula.) As of Friday, the six judges have managed to narrow the pool of almost 200 companies down to 18 semi-finalists.

Trends

Although the judges are curiously split down the middle on “what is interesting,” several trends are apparent from our selection of the 18 semi-finalists.

1. Extending commerce into community: referrals networks, advertising to vertically focused communities, and behavioral targeting.
2. Monetizing video: publishing, distribution, advertising, and life cycle management
3. Focused semantic web: enhancing search around specific verticals
4. Replacing Microsoft with web apps: along the Zimbra theme, but the next step
5. Communities and collective intelligence: using the social graph to get smarter faster on just about everything
6. Bridging on & off-line worlds: how to bring more of the off-line world into an integrated experience online; resources, transactions, voice, etc.

What did the less interesting submissions have in common?

1. We’ve already seen companies attack the problem with that type of solution (and even worse, we saw it at the 2005 or 2006 Launch Pad.)
2. Narrow markets and/or difficult channels to the end customer
3. Too complex, or too poorly articulated for the panel to grok in the limited time available to review submissions.

Next step: selecting the top six companies

The main criterion in narrowing the pool of 18 semi-finalists down to six finalists is simple: is the company fundable, or is it just a cool idea? Semi-finalists have been asked for additional information so we can make the final selection on Tuesday night. Lobbying has been creative – a life-sized raccoon cutout was delivered to my office last week – and persistent.

Although the names of the 18 companies are under wraps, we’ll be able to share more takeaways once the final 6 are selected. Names of the final 6 will be publicly announced at Web 2.0 on October 18th at 5 PM .   

Is there a Zimbra in the bunch?  Not sure, but the next round of conversations should be interesting.    It’s time for your close up Launch Pad semi-finalists!