Cityverse joined two other start-ups chosen to pitch at TCSessions: Crypto on 17 November in Miami. Joe Hamilton, founder and Head of Network, gave a 4 minute pitch to a room filled with investors, journalists, and crypto enthusiasts. After the pitch, two venture capitalists asked clarifying questions. Wen-Wen Lam, partner at Gradient Ventures and Will Nuelle, general partner at Galaxy Ventures sat on the panel.
Cityverse pitched between Personal Digital Spaces and Moonstream, startups which provided infrastructure for crypto payments and gaming, respectively. Hamilton greeted the room with energy, flying through more than 15 slides in the short presentation time. After the presentation, the judges asked questions relating to onboarding cities and moderating content, to which Hamilton responded fluently.
Although Moonstream went on to win the judges’ favor, the pitch still provided a valuable opportunity to expose Cityverse to investors as the company looks to finish its seed round. Out of the eighteen startups on the expo floor at the convention, only three were given the opportunity to share their vision on the big stage.
TCSessons: Crypto marks TechCrunch’s first foray into the state of Florida, as well as Cityverse’s first public appearance outside of Tampa Bay. As a localized social media platform, Cityverse will be premiering in the Tampa Bay region, and has therefore been relatively slow to engage in national PR.
After the pitch, expo guests eagerly visited the Cityverse booth, voicing specific interest in the concept of more easily exploring local news and events in their city. Visitors represented Tampa Bay, Miami, Sacramento, and even international communities like Hong Kong and Ontario. Attendees still showed enthusiasm for the startup, even though a majority of them will have some time to wait before Cityverse comes to their city. In time, we look forward to welcoming all of them as Cityzens.
