Businessweek.com Mulls Launch of "Business YouTube"

Businessweek.com Mulls Launch of "Business YouTube"
Mike Shields

MAY 24, 2007 -

John Byrne, BusinessWeek's executive editor and the acting editor-in-chief for Businessweek.com, said that company is looking to create a "business YouTube" essentially an online video hub for wannabe moguls to post short pitch videos for a new ventures or companies.

The site is also exploring the launch of an online-video-based contest that would invite anyone with a idea for a new business to submit a plan on the site with the chance to land $500,000 in venture capital funding.

Byrne, speaking during a panel session at the Interactive Media Conference in Miami, Fla. on May 24, said that like on YouTube, users would rate each proposal and ultimately vote on the winner, who would receive half a million dollars from a VC firm to invest in the proposed business.

To help create the YouTube-like platform, Byrne said the company was looking to purchase a new technology platform.

According to Byrne, the drive behind the proposed launch, given its potential appeal among non-BusinessWeek-readers, is to help widen the site's audience while also boosting repeat visits among existing users.

Given the challenging economics of print, and the need to cash in on larger online audiences, Businessweek.com is "Looking to do things that are highly engaging but are completely non-journalistic in many ways," he added.