The Venture Challenge started off on March 15 with an exhibition where competing teams could expose their venture, pitch to the judges and talk to the students from San Diego State University who had come to check out the show. Fredrik Samanta, Jonas Hombert and Andreas Harju from JayCut had a busy evening speaking to all the interested visitors.
– You definitely have the most interesting company here tonight, said one enthused student. He was a surfer and thought that free on-line video editing was a brilliant idea. Not only do amateur surfers like to take a lot of films, but professional surfers need to show their sponsors edited material. This was good news to JayCut, who believes that all extreme sports are attractive target groups for their community.
The following day it was time for the 15-minute business plan presentation in front of the judges, who consisted of a mixed group of prominent executives, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
Professor Alex F. DeNoble, Director of Venture Challenge, was impressed by JayCut’s presentation. He had specifically asked the judges to pose tricky questions to the teams, and leave the coaching for later. However, at the end of JayCut’s presentation, the judges were so eager to discuss the future of the business that they forgot about the harsh questions.
– And that’s a good sign!, explained DeNoble, who also pointed out that there were some savvy investors among the jury members. One of them happened to be an investor in JayCut’s competitor Eyespot.
Leaving San Diego, the SSES team thought it had been a rewarding experience.
– Combining the great atmosphere with real venture caps and great people we established several important contacts for our business. Being here has also given us a good feeling for the international competition and the technical development, which is crucial for an internet company, said Andreas Harju.
The whole team also mentioned that they are happy to give input and support to next year’s team from SSES.
– If it can help the next year's team to get beyond the wildcard round I will be very happy to provide any feedback, either to SSES or to the team directly when the time comes, said Jonas Hombert.
The next step for JayCut is their beta launch in a few weeks. In this version, you will be able to create your own video editing group and much more. For those interested you will also find an album with photos and videos from Venture Challenge! Check out www.jaycut.se for more information.
Check out also Internet World's article on JayCut's success, they also recently ranked Jonas as one of Sweden's five hottest internet entprepreneurs.
