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Mar 3, 2025 · 36m · the-pitch

#7 Shimmur

Josh Muccio · 8m spoken Matthew Peltier · 6m spoken Jillian Manus · 4m spoken Phil Nadel · 3m spoken Jake Chapman · 3m spoken Howie Diamond · 2m spoken
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Founder Matthew Peltier pitches Shimmur, a fan-engagement app designed to connect social media influencers and their fan communities, to a panel of venture capitalists on The Pitch. Although the investors unanimously pass due to stage and sector fit concerns, Matthew successfully completes his $1.5 million seed round with outside capital and scales the platform.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Josh holds 31% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Josh as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 2.5 Josh pushing back 4.8
05100:0010:0020:0030:002:18–8:25 · Josh as informed peer 3/10 Matthew Peltier's Barefoot Entrance and Shimmur Pitch The investors question the practicality and scalability of fan-influencer interactions, prompting Matthew to systematically explain the upvoting mechanics and psychological appeal of influencer acknowledgment.8:26–12:49 · Josh as informed peer 5/10 Organic Traction Metrics and Monetization Strategy Investors press Matthew hard on his concrete monetization strategy and revenue figures, with Gillian refusing vague answers when asking for specific dollar amounts on brand deals.12:50–19:37 · Josh as informed peer 4/10 Fundraising Terms and Investor Deliberation The pitch concludes as each investor passes for distinct strategic reasons while Matthew maintains an easygoing, unfazed attitude.19:42–31:22 · Josh as informed peer 5/10 Investor Post-Mortem and Secret Code Word Debrief In post-pitch debriefs, the investors provide candid, unfiltered critiques regarding Matthew's barefoot appearance, the addictive nature of social media, and the secret exit code word.2:18–8:25 · Guest teaching 5/10 Matthew Peltier's Barefoot Entrance and Shimmur Pitch The investors question the practicality and scalability of fan-influencer interactions, prompting Matthew to systematically explain the upvoting mechanics and psychological appeal of influencer acknowledgment.8:26–12:49 · Guest teaching 3/10 Organic Traction Metrics and Monetization Strategy Investors press Matthew hard on his concrete monetization strategy and revenue figures, with Gillian refusing vague answers when asking for specific dollar amounts on brand deals.12:50–19:37 · Guest teaching 2/10 Fundraising Terms and Investor Deliberation The pitch concludes as each investor passes for distinct strategic reasons while Matthew maintains an easygoing, unfazed attitude.19:42–31:22 · Guest teaching 6/10 Investor Post-Mortem and Secret Code Word Debrief In post-pitch debriefs, the investors provide candid, unfiltered critiques regarding Matthew's barefoot appearance, the addictive nature of social media, and the secret exit code word.2:18–8:25 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Matthew Peltier's Barefoot Entrance and Shimmur Pitch The investors question the practicality and scalability of fan-influencer interactions, prompting Matthew to systematically explain the upvoting mechanics and psychological appeal of influencer acknowledgment.8:26–12:49 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Organic Traction Metrics and Monetization Strategy Investors press Matthew hard on his concrete monetization strategy and revenue figures, with Gillian refusing vague answers when asking for specific dollar amounts on brand deals.12:50–19:37 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Fundraising Terms and Investor Deliberation The pitch concludes as each investor passes for distinct strategic reasons while Matthew maintains an easygoing, unfazed attitude.19:42–31:22 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Investor Post-Mortem and Secret Code Word Debrief In post-pitch debriefs, the investors provide candid, unfiltered critiques regarding Matthew's barefoot appearance, the addictive nature of social media, and the secret exit code word.2:18–8:25 · Josh pushing back 4/10 Matthew Peltier's Barefoot Entrance and Shimmur Pitch The investors question the practicality and scalability of fan-influencer interactions, prompting Matthew to systematically explain the upvoting mechanics and psychological appeal of influencer acknowledgment.8:26–12:49 · Josh pushing back 6/10 Organic Traction Metrics and Monetization Strategy Investors press Matthew hard on his concrete monetization strategy and revenue figures, with Gillian refusing vague answers when asking for specific dollar amounts on brand deals.12:50–19:37 · Josh pushing back 5/10 Fundraising Terms and Investor Deliberation The pitch concludes as each investor passes for distinct strategic reasons while Matthew maintains an easygoing, unfazed attitude.19:42–31:22 · Josh pushing back 4/10 Investor Post-Mortem and Secret Code Word Debrief In post-pitch debriefs, the investors provide candid, unfiltered critiques regarding Matthew's barefoot appearance, the addictive nature of social media, and the secret exit code word.

speaking balance: gold is Josh, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Josh 62.4% · guest 37.6%0:00 · Josh 62.4% · guest 37.6%3:00 · Josh 43.4% · guest 56.6%3:00 · Josh 43.4% · guest 56.6%6:00 · Josh 20.9% · guest 79.1%6:00 · Josh 20.9% · guest 79.1%9:00 · Josh 17.5% · guest 82.5%9:00 · Josh 17.5% · guest 82.5%12:00 · Josh 33.9% · guest 66.1%12:00 · Josh 33.9% · guest 66.1%15:00 · Josh 8.4% · guest 91.6%15:00 · Josh 8.4% · guest 91.6%18:00 · Josh 45.8% · guest 54.2%18:00 · Josh 45.8% · guest 54.2%21:00 · Josh 17.1% · guest 82.9%21:00 · Josh 17.1% · guest 82.9%24:00 · Josh 7.4% · guest 92.6%24:00 · Josh 7.4% · guest 92.6%27:00 · Josh 8.6% · guest 91.4%27:00 · Josh 8.6% · guest 91.4%30:00 · Josh 25.6% · guest 74.4%30:00 · Josh 25.6% · guest 74.4%33:00 · Josh 82.1% · guest 17.9%33:00 · Josh 82.1% · guest 17.9%36:00 · Josh 49.2% · guest 50.8%36:00 · Josh 49.2% · guest 50.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 27:07 Jake denounces social media dopamine addiction model

Jake forcefully dismisses the ethical premise of the app, comparing the influencer engagement loop to creating drug addicts hooked on dopamine.

 Hardest push from Josh ▶ 12:05 Gillian demands specific revenue figures

Gillian refuses Matthew's ambiguous explanation of brand deals and repeatedly interrupts to demand concrete contract numbers.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:26 Matthew reframes the fan-influencer relationship

Matthew educates Howie and Phil on how upvoting filters out noise and creates an intimate gaze into the influencer's attention.

 Josh holds their own ▶ 28:30 Phil defends disciplined pre-revenue investment rule

Phil firmly articulates his refusal to chase pre-revenue social hype, stating he would pass even on an early-stage Facebook.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicJosh as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementJosh pushing backWhy
Matthew Peltier's Barefoot Entrance and Shimmur Pitch 3524 The investors question the practicality and scalability of fan-influencer interactions, prompting Matthew to systematically explain the upvoting mechanics and psychological appeal of influencer acknowledgment.
Organic Traction Metrics and Monetization Strategy 5326 Investors press Matthew hard on his concrete monetization strategy and revenue figures, with Gillian refusing vague answers when asking for specific dollar amounts on brand deals.
Fundraising Terms and Investor Deliberation 4225 The pitch concludes as each investor passes for distinct strategic reasons while Matthew maintains an easygoing, unfazed attitude.
Investor Post-Mortem and Secret Code Word Debrief 5644 In post-pitch debriefs, the investors provide candid, unfiltered critiques regarding Matthew's barefoot appearance, the addictive nature of social media, and the secret exit code word.

Statements from this episode (12)

Insight
Peltier: Shimmur inverts social media by having communities create content for influencers
“Right now the way it works is it flips kind of the way social media works, so rather than influencers creating content and fans reacting, the community creates the content, they up and down vote the good and bad content, and the influencer is able to interact.”
Matthew Peltier Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 3:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peltier: Shimmur Influencers Average 500K to 1M Followers per Platform
“You know, I'd say on the lower end, like a 150,000 plus but on average we probably have, you know, half a million to a million, at least on a single platform.”
Matthew Peltier Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 5:54
Opinion
Manus: Most Influencers Delegate Their Fan Interactions to Others
“Most influencers don't do this themselves they do some of it, but a lot of times they have others.”
Jillian Manus Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 6:26
Opinion
Peltier: Social Influencers Authentically Create and Manage All Content
“So it really depends on the class of influencers, social influencers, Are all authentic. Everything they create on every platform they do, everything they're engaging with is all them.”
Matthew Peltier Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 6:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peltier: Shimmur reached 166K users with zero paid marketing
“We just passed, I think yesterday, a 166,000 users. We've done no paid marketing or promotions. It's all been, you know, organic influencers coming to our product.”
Matthew Peltier Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 8:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peltier: Shimmur received five- and six-figure brand deal offers
“And we've already had some offers for, you know, five, six-figure brand deals through major agencies to come through the product and advertise products or work on campaigns.”
Matthew Peltier Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 11:35
Disclosure
Peltier: Shimmur is raising at a $7M pre-money valuation led by Greycroft
“We're doing right now a seven mil pre, and that, those terms have been worked with Graycroft.”
Matthew Peltier Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 13:11
Assertion Partly supported
Gillian Manus was an early investor in MySpace
“I was one of the investors in MySpace.”
Jillian Manus Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 17:44
Opinion
Jake Chapman: Influencer social apps hook users like drug addicts
“And with certain social businesses, I don't like that the premise is really all based on We're going to trigger, like, a little dopamine high in all of these people and keep them coming back. It makes them, like, drug addicts, and, like, it literally is a dopa…”
Jake Chapman Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 27:27
Disclosure
Phil Nadel claims he would not invest in a pre-revenue Facebook
“If a pre-revenue Facebook deal presented itself to me, I don't think I would invest because I don't invest in pre-revenue companies, and I don't know that I would be omniscient enough to know that this new, this Facebook, this company will be able to successfu…”
Phil Nadel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 28:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peltier: Shimmur active users grew to 230,000 post-pitch
“Yeah, I think we're at about a 160,000 active users. [1967] Matthew Peltier: since then we've grown to about 230,000.”
Matthew Peltier Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 32:41
Assertion Supported
Muccio: Shimmur closed seed round with VC investors post-pitch
“In the months following our call, he was able to close out his round with VC investors.”
Josh Muccio Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 33:33
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