Paul Greenberg announced this week a fun new project called CRM Idol that will have 60 small CRM-related companies go up in front of a panel of judges and be reviewed.
The problem Greenberg outlines is one that we’re familiar with here at ReadWriteWeb: bloggers, journalists, analysts, venture capitalists, etc. are inundated with pitches from small companies. Many of these companies could be great, but there are too many to sift through. This will help get some of these companies in front of a larger audience.
Here’s how it will work:
If you meet the submission criteria outlined below, you will be given the opportunity, first come first serve, to secure a time slot on a specific day that will put you in front of some of the most influential people in the CRM/SCRM world. They will spend an hour with you in a demo to hear about your technology product – software only – and they will write a jointly signed review of what they saw of you – that will be published in multiple venues as soon as its written. It can be a good review, a bad one, a mix or indifferent. There’s risk on your part to be taken here. But it is something that you need to be aware of. The reviews will go up as soon as the 5 judge sign off on the final content. They won’t be exhaustive reviews but they will be opinionated and fair.
There will be 40 companies from the Americas, and 20 from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Of the 40 from the Americas, four will be chosen as finalists. Three finalists will be chosen from the Europe, the Middle East and Africa group. From the finalists, a winner from each will be chosen. The winners will be determined by two factors: a popular vote and a panel of judges. Each will account for half of the selection.
The prizes include consultations from leading firms and analysts. For more information on the requirements, submission process, judges and prizes, check out the announcement here.
Photo by kioan
