March 20th saw the first-ever PitchCamp at CloudFest. This was also the first event put on by us here at Guildenberg, featuring a number of our members. CloudFest is the world’s largest internet infrastructure event in the world and this was done in addition to WP Day, which already saw Jonathan Wold as the host for the entire day. WP Day also saw many of our members on panels. The event was held in the BarCamp track of CloudFest.

What is a PitchCamp?

The idea began simply within those of us in Guildenberg, when starting to think of what types of events we could do we wanted to include members and provide benefits. We were provided a slot as part of CloudFest and it seemed the perfect opportunity to trial the PitchCamp format.

Each participant is given a set time and a microphone to introduce their product and share what they’re looking for. Examples include:

• Distribution
• Collaboration
• Investment

As with all ideas, we pitched it to ourselves first. This was our format we settled on:

• 90 seconds
• No slides, no presentation format, just you and your words.
• Each name put into ‘hat’ and pulled out to present rapidly.
• Afterwards opportunity to be featured on WP Product Talk mini-interview.
• Afterwards, opportunity to network and connect with other pitchers, those watching.

Each pitcher was provided with some tips for pitching, and on the day, their names were put into a bag, each pulled out randomly, and then the microphone was handed to them. In between pitches, summaries were shared, while time was given for those watching to take notes, use the pre-made form, or connect.

There was also an impromptu piano session thanks to the venue being a bar done in the style of a Parisian haunt.

A range of people were invited to attend, along with it being listed in the official schedule for CloudFest. This meant we had both a wider range of pitchers and those watching the pitches.

Thank you to Patrick for the photos, it was amazing to capture the moment.

The live casting

An extra feature was our partnership with WP Product Talk during the event. Matt Cromwell interviewed each pitcher, and Adam Weeks brought you a live stream. It truly was an incredible setup that brought back memories of sports commentary.

The pitchers

The pitchers were:

• Beaver Builder
• BigCommerce
• Bloo Kanoo
• Brizy
• CodeWP
• Domai.io
• Dollie
• Edgeport
• Extendify
• Groundhogg
• NitroPack
• Termageddon
• TranslatePress
• WooCommerce
• ZipWP

Some on the day were unable to pitch but deserve a shout-out. This event was taking place at the same time as others during Cloudfest, and many were also travelling home.

• Atarim
• Amelia

That’s a wrap

Our thanks goes out to every single pitcher and attendee. It was great to see the idea come to life and collectively we plan on offering it again, although we have no specific plans yet. Let us know if you’d like to see PitchCamp somewhere specific though!