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Elevator Pitch: Webjam - Europe's answer to Ning

Webjam offers a home for your own social network, and sprang out of a conversation over a few heady glasses of wine back in September 2006.

Webjam employs ten people in the UK, based in London, and is working on a new privacy pledge that will give users more control and understanding about how personal data is used on the site.

Co-founder and former Yahoo Yann Motte is working on the second round of funding, with some early-stage investment from French venture firm I-Source already in the bag. He explains how he plans to make it work.


• Explain your business to my Mum.
"Webjam allows local communities, interest groups, charities, fan clubs or families to easily connect online and share content in a controlled and safe environment."

• What's your background?
"I co-founded Webjam after eight years growing Yahoo across Europe, launching products and closing deals, lastly as VP of product management. Before that I spent two fantastic MBA years in the US after a stint as an investment banker, advising entrepreneurs when they wanted to sell their company. I'm now enjoying growing Webjam as an open and friendly environment for its team and communities."

How do you make money?
"We generate revenue by offering a combination of advertising-supported free services and premium services. Some of our publishers are willing to pay to kit their Webjam with some extra features, from personalising the domain name to controlling the advertising."

"Based on our current growth, we believe we can grow from several tens of thousands of users today to more than a million within 12 months."

• Name your competitors.
"Ning, Multiply and Facebook groups."

What's your biggest challenge?

"To make it easy to answer a tough question: who are you online?

• What's the weirdest business experience you've had so far?
"During my early years in business development for Yahoo, people whose companies were very profitable were apologising for wearing a tie during meetings. That was a weird bubble..."

"No. Some business models are proving now, not everybody will make it."

"A reputation engine, which is one of the next developments on Webjam."

The place where people automatically go to give a sense of purpose to their connections.

Are you the next big thing?

Yes, because the next revolution on the web is for people to combine their skills online to achieve something offline. That is what Webjam is ultimately about.


Can it really take on the awesome Ning? Is there enough understanding about social networks in the mainstream to create demand for this? And would you use it?

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