Startup creates high-tech pitching coach

NimblePitch co-founders Greg Hofbauer, left, and Bart Levy. (Photo by Michael Thompson)

NimblePitch co-founders Greg Hofbauer, left, and Bart Levy. (Photo by Michael Thompson)

A nine-month-old local startup is looking shed some light on how sales pitches land.

NimblePitch, which launched in February as a spinoff of Richmond-based GroundWork Design, is a subscription-based service that lets clients manage and track the success of sales presentations using interactive and cloud-based technology.

“When you consider that they are teaching elementary students how to use PowerPoint, why are sophisticated sellers still using it?” said NimblePitch co-founder Bart Levy.

The company’s program measures how interested potential clients are in a sales pitch based on how they interact with a presentation packet that lives in the digital cloud.

“You would use it to check: Where did they go next? Did they watch the videos? Did they read the notes attached? Did they look at the schematics? Did they check the specs?” Levy said.

“You would use the metrics to know exactly … what they [the potential clients] were most interested in or if they were seriously interested or if they were just being polite and taking a sales call.”

The four-person firm also helps clients develop narratives for their products to be used in sales meetings.

NimblePitch has been gaining momentum since its launch.

It has signed two clients and was named one of Richmond Venture Forum’s Companies to Watch in 2013.

Levy and co-founder Greg Hofbauer began what became NimblePitch after they met in 2011 at a networking event. Hofbauer, of GroundWork Design, wanted to use his tech firm’s tools and information in a different way. Levy, who has a background in marketing and design, was looking for a more robust sales platform.

They developed an app for NimblePitch in 2011 but soon saw that a different platform would work better.

“In 2011, apps were very trendy,” Hofbauer said. “We had a prototype but realized we could do so much more.”

The pair pitched the idea for NimblePitch at a startup competition in Charlottesville in early 2012. Encouraged by the feedback, Hofbauer and Levy spent the rest of 2012 researching the market and talking to marketing and sales people to refine their idea.

“We knew a lot about communicating effectively,” Hofbauer said. “What we had to learn was the world of sales communication and understand the inner workings of the mind of a sales executive.”

They closed their first sale this year with Communications Specialists in Mechanicsville. In May, they got their second client, also a Richmond-based company.

The base price for access to the NimblePitch platform is $7,000 plus a monthly fee of $99 per user.

NimblePitch shares its offices and resources with GroundWork Design at 9601 Gayton Road.

NimblePitch co-founders Greg Hofbauer, left, and Bart Levy. (Photo by Michael Thompson)

NimblePitch co-founders Greg Hofbauer, left, and Bart Levy. (Photo by Michael Thompson)

A nine-month-old local startup is looking shed some light on how sales pitches land.

NimblePitch, which launched in February as a spinoff of Richmond-based GroundWork Design, is a subscription-based service that lets clients manage and track the success of sales presentations using interactive and cloud-based technology.

“When you consider that they are teaching elementary students how to use PowerPoint, why are sophisticated sellers still using it?” said NimblePitch co-founder Bart Levy.

The company’s program measures how interested potential clients are in a sales pitch based on how they interact with a presentation packet that lives in the digital cloud.

“You would use it to check: Where did they go next? Did they watch the videos? Did they read the notes attached? Did they look at the schematics? Did they check the specs?” Levy said.

“You would use the metrics to know exactly … what they [the potential clients] were most interested in or if they were seriously interested or if they were just being polite and taking a sales call.”

The four-person firm also helps clients develop narratives for their products to be used in sales meetings.

NimblePitch has been gaining momentum since its launch.

It has signed two clients and was named one of Richmond Venture Forum’s Companies to Watch in 2013.

Levy and co-founder Greg Hofbauer began what became NimblePitch after they met in 2011 at a networking event. Hofbauer, of GroundWork Design, wanted to use his tech firm’s tools and information in a different way. Levy, who has a background in marketing and design, was looking for a more robust sales platform.

They developed an app for NimblePitch in 2011 but soon saw that a different platform would work better.

“In 2011, apps were very trendy,” Hofbauer said. “We had a prototype but realized we could do so much more.”

The pair pitched the idea for NimblePitch at a startup competition in Charlottesville in early 2012. Encouraged by the feedback, Hofbauer and Levy spent the rest of 2012 researching the market and talking to marketing and sales people to refine their idea.

“We knew a lot about communicating effectively,” Hofbauer said. “What we had to learn was the world of sales communication and understand the inner workings of the mind of a sales executive.”

They closed their first sale this year with Communications Specialists in Mechanicsville. In May, they got their second client, also a Richmond-based company.

The base price for access to the NimblePitch platform is $7,000 plus a monthly fee of $99 per user.

NimblePitch shares its offices and resources with GroundWork Design at 9601 Gayton Road.

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Mike Ogilvie
Mike Ogilvie
10 years ago

NimblePitch is a stupendous product! I’m not a client right now, but plan on being a client as soon as possible.