BitLit CEO Pitches on Dragons’ Den
Canadian startup BitLit Media appeared on Dragons’ Den to solicit funding. Three Dragons were impressed enough to make offers—but there’s a twist at the end, so watch it all.
The Vancouver company allows readers to buy discounted ebooks when they already own a physical version. BitLit, named to the Techvibes 20 in April, was founded in 2013. The startup raised a seed round in May.
“Traditionally, publishers and authors didn’t see any residual from used book sales, but traditionally new books stores also didn’t invite their customers back to list their used copy for sale on the same shelf as the new edition,” Peter Hudson, President and CEO of BitLit, said. “The idea that somebody might buy a used edition of a physical book and then purchase the companion e-book copy through BitLit suddenly allows publishers and authors to realize an up-sell on a used physical book transaction.”
This new format of buying published works resembles the music industry, where producers are offering fans who buy CD or vinyl the choice to get digital MP3 copy of the album for a discount price or free. BitLit is hoping this new style of purchasing book will inspire and change the way publishers are selling books and the way people are reading them.
