Brand Video Production
Pitchforce — Weekly Startup Pitch Event Brand Video
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Transcript: Pitchforce — Weekly Startup Pitch Event Brand Video
**Max Shapiro, Producer of PitchForce, CEO of PeopleConnect:** In order to have a successful startup, you obviously need a great idea, service or product. You need a great team.
You also need a great pitch - something that will resonate with investors. You need a place where you can practice that and get feedback from Angels and VCs.
Hi, I'm Max Shapiro, I'm the creator and producer of PitchForce and I'm also the CEO of People Connect.
People Connect now in its 19th year is the most unique recruiting firm in the world.
The reason I can make that most audacious statement is because of our Employees Without Paychecks model. We actually find people who work for options only for three months while companies raise their seed round or their A round.
We field many different types of positions, so it can be at the C-level of Chief Marketing Officer or in the marketing department it could be a growth actor. It could be a VP of sales, it could be a VP of Engineering, Chief Technology Officer, it could be a CEO with a tech background for a founder who does not have a tech background.
PitchForces a weekly event where six to ten companies have the opportunity to demo their product and to present to a panel of angel investors and early stage VCs.
There's a four minute PowerPoint followed by four minutes of Q&A, four minutes of feedback. And then the panelists vote on a scale of one to five, how they view the company's chances for success and also what they thought of the pitch itself.
The goal for the presenters is to get an opportunity to pitch to the angle group's represented by the panelists or the VCs.
People have said that this is the most outstanding weekly pitch event in the Bay Area. You'll get outstanding feedback from some super smart people and the opportunity to continue the discussion with them.
We hope that you can join us soon. Sign up on Eventbrite or for more information, go to pitch-force.com.
About This Video
Pitchforce is a weekly Bay Area startup pitch event created by Max Shapiro — who is also the CEO of People Connect, a 19-year-old recruiting firm built on an options-only employment model for seed-stage companies. That background matters: Pitchforce isn't a side project from someone who liked the idea of startup events. It's run by someone who has spent two decades in the early-stage startup ecosystem and built the format around what actually helps founders. The 4/4/4 structure — four minutes to pitch, four minutes of Q&A, four minutes of feedback — is specific by design. Six to ten companies present to a panel of Angels and early-stage VCs. Panelists vote on a 1–5 scale. This brand video does the job a promo video for a pitch event has to do: it explains the format precisely and establishes why the event is worth a founder's time. "People have said this is the most outstanding weekly pitch event in the Bay Area." The goal for presenters is to earn an intro to one of the Angel or VC panelists. For a startup community video, what matters isn't the production — it's whether someone watching understands exactly what they'd be walking into and why it could matter for their company. This is <span class="strong">brand video production</span> built around a specific format and a specific outcome.
What should a startup pitch event brand video include?
The format, the audience, and the outcome — in that order. Pitchforce's video works because it answers all three: six to ten companies pitch on a 4/4/4 structure (four minutes pitch, four minutes Q&A, four minutes feedback), the panel is Angels and early-stage VCs, and the goal is to earn a direct introduction to one of them. A generic 'come pitch to investors' video doesn't give a founder enough information to decide whether to show up. A video that explains exactly what happens and what's possible does.
How does a founder-run organization make its brand video credible?
By letting the founder's track record speak first. Max Shapiro's People Connect backstory — 19 years, an options-only model for seed-stage companies, filling C-suite and VP roles for founders who can't pay salaries yet — establishes that he has spent nearly two decades in the early-stage ecosystem before he mentions Pitchforce. That context makes the event's credibility claim ('most outstanding weekly pitch event in the Bay Area') land differently than if it came from someone with no record in the space.
How do you produce a brand video for a weekly recurring event versus a one-time conference?
A recurring event video needs to do more persuasion work than a one-time event recap. Someone deciding whether to attend Pitchforce next Tuesday needs to understand the format, the caliber of the panelists, and what the best-case outcome looks like — before they commit the time. A one-time event recap can show the energy and let the footage speak. A recurring event promo has to answer the 'is this worth my time' question every week for every viewer who encounters it. Specificity is the answer: format details, panelist credentials, and a clear statement of what success looks like.
How long should a startup event brand video be?
Two to three minutes is the right range. Pitchforce's video covers the full picture — what it is, who runs it, how the format works, who judges, what the outcome looks like, and where to sign up — without overextending. For a recurring event, the video also has to stay evergreen: a founder watching it six months after it was produced should still get accurate information. That argues for keeping it tight and format-focused rather than heavy on footage from a specific night. The CTA at the end (Eventbrite or pitch-force.com) is the conversion mechanism; the video's job is to get someone there.
