Introducing Bidchat: A Celebrity Telethon for the iPhone Generation
Backed by young Hollywood, Bidchat empowers anyone anywhere to create meaningful connections with their favorite celebrities and influencers — while raising money and awareness for things that matter most.
How we got here:
We all care about giving back, we just don’t know where to begin.
The idea for Bidchat came from witnessing first-hand the way influencers currently interact with fans in controlled environments.
Whether it is a show-fan convention or a paid backstage meet and greet, we’ve seen fans gather excitedly to meet a celebrity of their dreams; only to find their excitement replaced with deflation as every interaction is met with a price-tag. We’ve watched as influencers become overwhelmed and unable to create a meaningful connection with their fans. And, we’ve witnessed as money raised goes directly into a promoter’s pocket — making them the only one to benefit from the experience — while everyone else is left wanting more.
Justin Bieber unwittingly exposed this exact issue earlier this year when he said he couldn’t keep appearing at paid fan meet and greets because they made him sad.
While his approach was met with a ton of backlash, Bieber brought to light a broken process, and something that could be improved upon in a positive way, if there was an avenue to do it.
And, then a light bulb went off.
What if we opened up a platform and gave anyone, anywhere, the ability to chat with influencers and experts across a variety of fields — ranging from psychologists, to professors, to trainers to musicians — from a mobile device?
We could remove all physical barriers; empowering people to bid to chat for a chance to create meaningful moments with influencers they never dreamed possible and incentivize them to participate by putting money raised towards charity.
Students of professors, fans of young Hollywood, athletes and more, could now share the moments they created with friends across social media platforms, where they would organically build awareness and donations for important causes.
And, influencers could use their social presence in such a better way; as opposed to what we were doing today.
It was a concept we believed in and we began building what Bidchat is today.
In early previews, the response to Bidchat has been through the roof. We’ve been told it’s the first pro-social formula that works. It gives fans access to people they never dreamed possible and celebrities a safe and positive way to interact with fans — and feel great about their experience as the money raised goes to causes that matter most.
How it works:
With Bidchat, fans don’t just watch the show, they join it.
Bidchat is incredibly easy to use. In just a few steps, users log into the app, found on the iTunes or Google Play store, and create a profile. They then immediately enter into a marketplace, where they can watch trending broadcasts for free or find broadcasters across a variety of categories that interest them (categories include: entertainment, sports, health & wellness, academia, politics); and, bid to chat. The highest bidder is chosen to participate in a live one-on-one broadcast that lasts 1, 2 or 3 minutes. And, as soon as the chat is done, the next winning bidder is forwarded in for the next one one chat. Winning bidders and the audience alike are instantly presented with a video of the exchange to share with their entire network.
Bidchat is just as easy for influencers to access. They begin by creating a profile, and are prompted to “go live”, where they choose what percentage of their proceeds they’d like to donate. Broadcasters that donate 50% or more of their bid revenue will be able to choose to donate their funds to one of Bidchat’s incredible charity partners. Because celebrities who participate have all been verified, users can join Bidchat with the confidence they will be participating in a safe and positive environment.
The people who power Bidchat:
Bidchat was started by three sets of brothers, hailing from tech, entertainment, and business who all share one thing in common: a collective passion for where prosocial, tech, and entertainment meet.
We’ve grown from there.
Our team of top people from TV & Film, design, philanthropy and engineering is incredibly diverse, offering us a new way of looking at problems and examining solutions. Because Bidchat leverages advanced technologies to power real time bids, we’ve found that our platform directly appeals to top engineers who have all left top jobs at some of the best tech companies to join our team and build what Bidchat has become today.
We’ve been building and testing Bidchat for the past year and are incredibly proud to announce that it is available for download in the iTunes and Google Play stores starting today.
We will kick off our official programing on 9/7 with a group chat at 5pm EST/8pm EST featuring current and former members of the Teen Wolf cast (Holland Roden, Charlie Carver, Max Carver, Ryan Kelley, Ian Bohen, JR Bourne) who will come together to engage with fans and use bids generated to raise money for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. MTV will be supporting the event, and will promote it across all of their channels to get the word out.
We will follow up our inaugural event with celebrity programming to benefit Children Mending Hearts, Voto Latino, the Environmental Media Association and more. Chats with some of young Hollywood’s biggest stars will be scheduled for the upcoming months.
Here’s where you come in.
To make Bidchat a massive success and to raise sizable amounts of money for causes we all care about, we need your help. We need you to get Bidchat in front of your friends, to spread the word about upcoming chats and to participate. Bidchat has the power to transform the way fans and influencers currently interact and we invite you all to become an active participant in the show. Help us achieve our vision of making Bidchat today’s celebrity telethon of the iPhone generation.
