TechCrunch50 is underway, a three day event. 1700 people in attendance, and over 200 companies, 50 on stage and another 150 in the demo area.
The TC50 companies in this group are focused on entertainment and the youth market. They include Shryk, Hangout, Blah Girls, and Tweegee. The TC50 Expert Panel for this group includes Chad Hurley from YouTube, Dan Farber from CNet, Marissa Mayer from Google, and Angel Investor Ron Conway.
Shryk (iThryv) A new generation online banking platform that allows clients to build "flavors" of online banking systems for discreet demographics. They try to teach kids the difference between "wants" and "needs", how to handle checking accounts and credit cards, and basic financial sense. They have pre-built versions for youth (5 to 11), teens (12 to 17), and young adults (18 to 24), but many others could be built. Strong emphasis on teaching financial concepts. They have a free web site for schools that gives them a simulated banking experience and lots of financial content.
Problem/Solution - Financial training for young people
Business Model - Sponsorships from banks and financial services companies.
Possible Competitors - BizWorld, Banks, Intuit
Hangout An online space for 16-24 year olds to bring off-line, social hangout activities on-line. Think MySpace becomes MyPlace where each user has their own virtual rooms that are highly personalized, stylized and private 3D rooms where they can invite their friends to hang out and share their media experiences together (voice chat, magazines, photos, videos, gifts and music) in real time. Hangout put a lot of effort into usability, security, and privacy. Hangout works with other social networks, inside them, so they don't need to build their own social network site.
Problem/Solution - Safe online hangout for teenagers
Business Model - Sponsorships, e-commerce, and advertising
Possible Competitors - MySpace, Second Life, Gaia, Habbo
Blah Girls Actor Ashton Kutcher (Punked, Beauty and the Geek) has teamed up with Jason Goldberg to create a new online space for teenage girls. "Blah Blah Blah" is an original content site that delivers a unique perspective on popular culture from the vantage point of the Blah Girls, an animated clique of teenagers. It looks like an animated TV show like "The Simpsons", except that you control the characters and the dialouge. Dynamic and interactive video content that you create. They add their opinions and reactions to the latest entertainment news and happenings. Katalyst Media, the company behind Blah Girls, is applying their expertise in television content creation to create an online interactive experience for teenagers. Blah Girls videos can run anywhere, in any social network.
Problem/Solution - Online entertainment for teenage girls
Business Model - Sponsorships, Advertising
Possible Competitors - MySpace, MTV, TV shows, online games
Tweegee.com A destination site for kids 8 to 14 and "tweeners" where they can express themselves creatively and safely in a customizable online environment. Tweegee integrates avatars, social networking, digital content, and interactive tools into an intuitive easy to use environment. Create full personal web sites, communicate via web based email. They can also engage in multi-player games, interact with webcam games and applications, read news most relevant to them, and author their own articles. They had two precocious kids on stage, probably 7 or 8 years old, presenting Tweegee. They were really great!
Problem/Solution - Safe online environment for "Tweeners".
Business Model - Subscriptions and advertising
Possible Competitors - MySpace, WeeWorld, Club Penguin, Second Life
TechCrunch Panel of Experts - Marisa Mayer (Google), Dan Farber (CNet), Ron Conway (Angel Investor), and Chad Hurley (YouTube).
The panel had some interesting questions and observations;
- Chad Hurley (YouTube) liked Blah Girls...because it is video.
- Chad asked Shryk if kids really use online financial services and credit cards. Marissa Mayer doubts the business model.
- Dan Farber thinks Shryk should work closely with banks to get traction.
- Marissa Mayer liked Hangout, but asked how they would build their social network.
- Marissa Mayer asked Shryk - what is the business model? Not really advertising, but sponsorships from banks and financial services.
- Ron Conway likes Shryk best, but wants to see some partnership deals before he would invest.
- Ron Conway thinks the other companies have a challenge in getting users to stop using other social networks and moving them to their sites. Kids have lots to choose from. Getting them to spend time on your site is a tough trade-off.
- Dan Farber liked Blah Girls. Thinks that it could build a big audience.
