Richard Branson wants to hear entrepreneurs pitch their business

Richard Branson’s attempts to keep the entrepreneurial flame burning during the global downturn have gone to a new level.

Last night the British billionaire used his blog to call on entrepreneurs to submit a two-minute business pitch that could be shown on his blog and as part of Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight entertainment.

“When I was starting out, I wish I could have had the chance to pitch my business ideas directly to people who could help make my ambitions a reality. We can now make that happen for you, on this very blog,” Branson wrote.

Budding entrepreneurs simply need to upload their pitch to Branson’s new site, called PitchTV. Once a month, the Virgin team will pick a selection of the best pitches and readers will then vote on their five favourites.

These videos will then be shown on the new PitchTV segment on Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight entertainment which, Virgin says, will “be seen by top business professionals from around the world”.

“We’ll also upload each monthly episode of PitchTV here shortly after. Viewers will be able to get in contact with the chosen entrepreneurs and who knows – among the viewers might be someone with the power to bring your idea to life,” Branson wrote.

Branson also says that each year he will personally select his favourite pitch and give the winner “a very special prize” which will be revealed in the future. 

The PitchTV site contains a long list of terms and conditions, but there is one piece of very good advice the site has that every entrepreneur should remember when they pitch to any audience.

“Remember that your video will be seen by the general public and Virgin takes no responsibility for its protection. You should be willing to put your idea in to the public arena, but you may want to take steps to protect it beforehand.”

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