SO you've got a really great idea for a dotcom, huh? Do you believe enough in it to stand in front of hundreds of people, with a panel of hard-nosed venture capitalists ready to thumb down your dream in public?

A number of passionate netpreneurs did just that when they gave a public elevator pitch as part of the first day of activities at HatchAsia.com's HatchCamp for Startups. A Silicon Valley tradition, the elevator pitch is the condensed presentation of your business plan -with the name coming from real-life experiences of making a pitch to a potential venture capitalist or other investor during an elevator ride. The pitch should ideally last no more than a minute-particularly if it's a short elevator ride-but definitely not beyond two minutes. Aim to be as coherent and interesting as possible, cut the BS and hope that your plan makes enough business sense to win a date for another, longer meeting with the VC. And not in another elevator, either.

The HatchCamp's panel was composed of Paul Ambas, HatchAsia.com's Hatchery Director; Steve Hsia, chief executive officer of Cybertouch; Ramon Tengco, CEO of Global 3 Internet Holdings Inc.; and Helen Zhu, director of PSINet Ventures.

One of the pitchers that Infotech managed to corner after his presentation was Dux Raymond Sy, CEO of Tsinoy.com, which aims to create a global community of Chinese and Filipinos. Tsinoy is a local term used to describe people of mixed Filipino and Chinese descent.

So what reactions did Sy get from the panelists during his one-minute sales pitch?

"I think it has potential, but it sounds more like a TV ad," Zhu said. While Sy won points for his delivery, his pitch mainly focused on branding Tsinoy.com by repeatedly mentioning the name.

"Can we hire you to do a pitch for another website?" Tengco quipped.

Meanwhile, Ambas opined that Sy might have to change the site's URL to expand its Internet play.

"I don't know how scalable this is because Tsinoy in the Philippines is Chinese and Filipino," he explained, saying that this limits the reach of the business since it focuses on a very specific community.

Hsia's reaction was quite plaintive: "I don't even know what Tsinoy means. I only found out when Paul explained what it is."

Moderator Dondi Mapa, HatchAsia's managing director, gave Sy two minutes to give a rebuttal, as were all the other pitchers.

"That's our job-to brand the site. Tsinoy.com is a global village of Chinese and Filipinos," Sy said.

"How much are you looking for?" Mapa asked after the rebuttal.

"As much as I can get," Sy quipped.

Incidentally, Sy's performance won him thumbs up from two of the VCs-meaning they would be willing to have a date with him for another meeting.

In an interview with the Inquirer, HatchAsia chief technology officer Manny Portugal noted that while the public elevator pitch was patterned after Garage.com's Internet boot camp in the US, this is a bit novel in Asia.

"The good thing about this is that culturally, Asians wouldn't go through something like this. For Asians to just go up on stage and face the possibility of public shame or loss of face is not usually part of our culture. Doing this says a lot already about their passion," Portugal said.

In a later interview, Sy agreed with this observation, explaining that he spent five years in the US before coming back to the Philippines.

"One thing I've noticed since I came here is that people look at me like I'm crazy," Sy said, explaining that he's used to pitching aggressively and already did his spiel for two VCs in the US. "There, one guy even resorted to bungee jumping just to get a VC's attention-all sorts of crazy things."

So how did he feel about going onstage at the HatchCamp?

"It's crazy, it's nerve-wracking and I gave it a shot. But for me, to make it successful, I have to be passionate-like they keep saying. Actually, it feels good, and I'll keep working on refining my pitch," Sy said.

One thing that he cited as the downfall of many sites is that they insist on treating visitors as consumers, not as community members.

"I'm not a consumer. I'm a community member. Joining Tsinoy.com is like moving into a village. It's more than making money. There's got to be a higher calling. And what's a better way than promoting our culture-bridging two cultures," he said.