There was little wind on the roof of the MCM Studio building in Manhattan last week as six entrepreneurs graced the stage to promote their businesses.
At one point, it was April Wachtel's turn. She made the case for her company Cheeky Cocktails before a panel of judges that included billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper. Men with television cameras surrounded her pitch and broadcast the moment live for Draper's “Shark Tank”-style business competition show, “Meet the Drapers.”
The show is in its eighth season, and past winners include leadership platform Balloon and food company It's Skinny.
After the show, Wachtel told TechCrunch that the experience was a “whirlwind” and the exposure was huge for a startup like hers. Cheeky Cocktails offers a selection of handcrafted cocktail mixers. She found out about the show after coming in second place in another pitch competition earlier this month. She was contacted by the producers of “Meet the Drapers” and asked if she could be on set, and within two days she was cast on the show.
“There's no substitute for hearing founders tell their stories,” she says. “At the end of the day, people buy from you because they like you, and they might stay there because they like the product.”
Tim Draper (center) and the founders on the show “Meet the Drapers.” Image credit: “Meet the Drapers”
Last Monday, the show gave selected media and guests a behind-the-scenes look at how the show is produced. Draper told TechCrunch that he wanted to give a behind-the-scenes look at how investments are made.
His panel of judges also included his sister Polly Draper, an actress currently best known for appearing in Hux. Also on the panel were Andy Tan, a partner at Draper Associates, and Rosie Rios, who served as U.S. Treasury Secretary from 2009 to 2016.
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The show is one of many on Draper's newly launched television channel, DraperTV, which offers business and entrepreneurship programming and is available through streaming services such as Roku. Previously, this show was broadcast on channels such as BizTV.
This season, the show will travel to different U.S. cities, including Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Austin and Detroit, leveraging local talent and focusing on different tech ecosystems.
Wachtel was one of six founders featured in the New York episode, with the winner advancing to the semifinals against all of the other city's winners before competing for a $1 million prize in the grand finale in San Francisco.
“The purpose was to help people around the world understand what the interaction between entrepreneurship and venture capital looks like and why it's one of the best things to do to create jobs, wealth, energy and consumer activity around the world,” Draper said.
The show had all the hallmarks of entrepreneurship and entertainment that viewers love. Draper has a big personality and knows when to make fun of himself. Investors provided clear insight and founders came with a grand vision. Everyone comes from diverse ethnic and gender backgrounds and has a variety of careers in a myriad of industries.
Sujana Chandrasekhar, founder of medical technology company KivviMed, entered the same New Jersey pitch competition as Wachtel and was recommended to audition for “Meet the Drapers.” Chandrasekhar said he was more nervous than usual when appearing on “Meet the Drapers,” especially considering the number of viewers for the show. KivviMed develops medical devices to relieve ear pain.
We created five digital twins. I'm being interviewed by a digital twin like Karl Marx.
Draper said the show has a particularly large audience in India, Brazil and Taiwan. Launched last summer, DraperTV is viewed by more than 350 million households around the world, according to statistics provided by the show.
“I was able to stay focused, get my point across, and answer questions to the best of my ability,” Chandrasekhar told TechCrunch. The program staff also helped with the preparations. They helped her hone her proposal, took her on a small walking tour of New York with the founders, and even provided hair and makeup, which she said made her feel special.
“The exposure our company and vision receives is outstanding,” she added about why she chose to participate.
Hilary Taylor, founder of WattsUp, agreed. WattsUp is a startup that has developed electric vehicle infrastructure. Taylor learned about the show through the Techstars Alabama Accelerator program, which her company is currently participating in.
She called the show fascinating and challenging, saying it was as much storytelling as it was business.
“We need to connect with viewers and judges in a very short time frame, simplifying complex technology for a mainstream audience while sounding believable to investors,” she continued, adding that the show helps early-stage founders connect with people beyond the tech bubble.
“Unlike the formal atmosphere of many VC pitch rooms, there were candid, funny, even goofy moments here that felt human and unexpectedly fun,” she said.
“Meet the Drapers” is just one part of the larger Draper Media empire that is being built. Draper himself is a third-generation investor (following his famous father and grandfather), having founded Draper Associates, a venture firm that has backed tech giants like Tesla, Skype, and Twitch in the 1980s. His children have also entered the family's venture capital business, including Jesse Draper, founder of Halogen Ventures, and Adam Draper, founder of Boost VC.
It's clear that Draper has big ambitions for a media empire focused on technology and startups. DraperTV offers shows like “Draper Decentralized” about AI and Web3. “Can't Be Done” is a podcast about new technology. “Talk with Tim” where Draper shares his perspective on business and technology.
There's no substitute for hearing founders tell their stories.
He's also building a digital twin, an AI version of himself that can interact with people and conduct interviews. He believes that while digital twins will become a more important part of entertainment, media and news, the addition of humans will still play a large role in news development.
“I created five digital twins,” he said. “I was interviewed by a digital twin like Karl Marx.”
In addition to his television network, Draper still runs Draper University, a program that uses sometimes unconventional methods to train entrepreneurs on how to survive in the jungle of the startup world. For example, one of his first forays into reality TV was a show called “Startup U” based at Draper University, which was quickly canceled after one season. But Draper said he still likes the premise and hasn't ruled out another similar attempt.
“We've been doing some great things with entrepreneurs, and that's resulted in some really great videos and some really great storytelling,” he said.
Draper believes that the innovations these founders are building will be the most important in decades to come, and that showcasing talent like this now is a gateway for people to explore the future. “Meet the Drapers” gave us a glimpse into how people see the future of sports betting, how founders are looking to power drug discovery, and how electric vehicle infrastructure is about to be transformed.
“There are some networks that are thinking about the future,” Draper continued. “They're all telling stories of what's happening now. We want stories 15 years from now.”