It all started as a very standard morning that 18th of March when I walked into the office. Nothing extraordinary seemed to be happening. But that is the thing with extraordinary, you never know when it is going to strike. That morning it struck during a conversation on The Next Web conference. It started as a suggestion with a hint of humor in it. And then it happened. It hit and it hit hard. Before I knew it, my idea had become a concept and sponsors were jumping the bandwagon. On midnight the 28th of March the deadline to enter for the giveaway of a number of The Next Web tickets, there was a frenzy with Dutch twitterazi. Erwin Blom and I had previously said that we were not going to just hand out the tickets. An effort had to be made. We agreed on that because we both were guessing we might have 5, 8 or at its wildest maybe even 10 startups maximum. Yesterday the impact of the whole thing became clear. 25 startups registered for the tickets. Honestly, I am overwhelmed. Completely. And of course, I am now in heavy competition. Check Meetial.com to see my own entry.

Tonight we have launched the first video pitch for Meetial. A tool that connects your social network to your schedule. Watch the video on Vimeo or visit Meetial to get a first impression.

Meetial from Arne Hulstein on Vimeo.

On the 18th I suggested that it would be a great idea if companies that run well donate money to get startups to The Next Web conference in Amsterdam. The idea has taken the Netherlands by storm. Walking around the Dutch Bloggies on Wednesday, everyone seemed to know about it. And rightly so, as we currently have a lot of tickets on offer! Of those tickets 3 have special conditions. 1 is for a startup from Arnhem and 2 need to go to startups related to education. The others are open to anyone!

So, get cracking on a video showing your startup. Tell us why you need the ticket and why everybody cannot do without your startup in the future. Who knows, you might get an email telling you you can spend the two days at The Next Web totally free!

So, what is a startup? Wikipedia says:
A startup company or start-up is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets. They have an uncertain future, and may result in a spectacular success, or failure. The term became popular internationally during the dot-com bubble when a great number of dot-com companies were founded. A high tech startup company is a startup company specialized in the high tech industry.

We have decided that a startup can be a bit broader for this competition. It can be that you are just starting up, but it can also be a pitch for a great new idea you have. Anything to do with internet, mobile internet or other ict related services has a chance to win. But you need to take it seriously.

The video can be a maximium of 3 minutes and needs to draw people to your startup. And it is alright to practice. If you want early feedback, post your video in the comments on this page or on the related blogpost of Erwin Blom. The final result needs to be in on the 28th of March, which leaves you a week. You can find all the details on PitchStorm.tv. So why are you still sitting there, get your camera out and get going!

@advany has already released his first beta for the competition video. Are you the next startup?