Future Learning Finland I would not support this venture based on this elevator pitch, although I find the idea of collaborating between countries a worthwhile learning venture. Message The video of the conference is of very poor quality and personally I find that a PowerPoint presentation makes for a boring presentation. I lost interest after […]
Continue reading Future Learning Finland – venture critique Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Just a note that – if you`re interested – the cumulative ratings for each of the ventures in the Pitch Pool are now available. Simply go to the Pitch Pool, open the venture post in question, and click on `view ratings` within the ratings box. You can see how your ratings influenced the overall […]
Continue reading Pitch Pool Cumulative Ratings Posted in: Announcements, Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
No, I would not invest in Evernote. While I was impressed with Evernote’s product and found the CEO/presenter likable, I felt the pitch was directed towards a potential user rather than a potential investor. If the question was would I want to invite CEO, Phil Libin, to present a more detailed Venture […]
Continue reading Evernote: use it – “yes”; invest – “no” Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
This was a good critique. Like ‘Learning unlimited’ your venture also seemed to appeal to no one in particular. There are different ways of investing other than with captial, such as time and expertise, but it is important for the pitch to clearly state who it is addresssing and what the venture is looking for. Be it money, expertise, staff, voluneers or participants. You make an important point, if the elevator pitch is addressing investors then after watching the pitch they should know where they fit in. Something to think about as I think of designing my own elevator pitch . . .
Thanks Marie. Yes, I think this exercise was very helpful in learning what NOT to do. Sticking to that 1 minute time limit must be extremely difficult.
Learning Unlimited I would support a venture of this nature, but I am not convinced in supporting this specific one based on the elevator pitch. Although I find the idea of a learning venture/collaboration between universities and high schools both important and a good idea to motivate learning, I found the elevator pitch lacked many […]
Continue reading Learning Unlimited I would support a ven… Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
NO, I would not invest in this venture. People: I preferred a graphical, visual presentation over a talking head. I enjoyed the slides and they gave me a good understanding of what Cloud Connect is about. I don`t know what position the author is responsible for – is he a sales person, owner, manager […]
Continue reading Venture Analysis of Cloud Connect Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hi,
I enjoyed reading your post. It’s interesting that you noted that you prefer “a graphical, visual presentation over a talking head”. It seems the presentation preference depends on the listener. I prefer a mix of both; I need to see who is pitching the product or service, but the number-cruncher in me needs some detail. I’m beginning to appreciate that it’s a pretty tall order to deliver both in a brief elevator pitch!
I also think you raised a great point about needing to see how the product fits in. I know it’s critical for me to be able to “connect the dots” to evaluate the need for the product or service.
Deborah
Hello Deborah,
I too have come to the conclusion that it must be difficult to creare an elevator pitch that has all the neceesary details and visuals to convince an investor. It will be a challenge when I work on my own elevator pitch, and at the moment critiquing them and also reading other’s critique helps me realize what appears to be important – but also that you can’t possibly appeal to everyone with one’s pitch.
NO, I would not invest in SchoolManager. Lacking experience in administration, I don’t think I could add any value to this venture aside from capital. However, the product does differentiate itself from the rest of the market by combining a learning management system (e.g. Moodle, Blackboard) with a student management system (e.g. BCeSIS). From the […]
Continue reading SchoolManager Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hi Colin,
You bring up a good point when you say that investing in a venture does not simply mean with capital. When I reviewed my elevator pitch, I realized that the pitch could be viewed from a student perspective (investing the time to engage in a learning experience), a teacher perspective (investing energy and time into teaching as a volunteer), a higer learning instititution (investing the space for wrokshops) or as a capital investor. I think it is very important the elevator pitch is quite clear about what type of investors they seek.
Yes, I would invest in this venture. The Content: I appreciate a short pitch, sweet and to the point. The MEgo widget will clearly meet a demand in today’s environment where everyone has to manage a series of individual profiles. This widget will sync all profiles together, allowing the user to spend less time updating […]
Continue reading Pitch Critique: MEgo Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hi Lisa,
I think there’s a lot to be said for a pitch that gets to the point quickly. I certainly appreciate this directness whether I’m watching a pitch or a TV commercial. It’s interesting that the company chose to “name-drop.” I’m curious…did that sway your opinion in any way regarding a potential investment?
Deborah
No, I would not invest in this venture. The Content: While there are many (obvious) benefits to providing OpenCourseware through RRU, the main one that stuck out for me (because I am an Administrator) was the issue of marketing – if the prospective students could just try the course before they enroll in university as […]
Continue reading Pitch Critique: Open RRU Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Lisa;
I really liked the RRU model of open courseware but did not think too much about the economics of it. I would like to know more about that before “investing”. I wonder what the instructors think about the opening up their work, as well. I know, as a public school teacher, any work that I create for work is property of the school board, and I don’t mind sharing whatever I create. If I was writing a textbook, either hardcopy or online, I don’t know how I would feel about the potential monetary loss. I would imagine that some people would buy in but others would oppose the concept.
Dennis
Analyzing SchoolManager Credibility and Management – The absence of the presenter’s picture as well as the complete absence of the product developer reduces the credibility of this pitch. The presenter does ot seem personally connected to the product. The producers experience is significant but no information regarding an organized team is presented. With the predicted […]
Continue reading Venture Analysis of SchoolManager Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
No, I would not invest in this project. What makes me feel so are the following: 1- the way the whole thing was presented. 2- Insufficient information 3- Vague ideas 4- Unclear target market Cloud Connect as a concept is great and we can […]
Continue reading No, I would n… Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hussain:
Good point about the speed of presentation. I had to listen to the pitch at least 4 times before I had a thorough understanding of what was being presented. I would rather the pitch was a little longer to allow some time to process the information, especially since the information being vocalized was somewhat different than that being presented visually.
Tim
YES I would invest in Dybuster. The ‘apple-pie’ plea at the end of the elevator pitch gave me the psychological hook to add my money to this endeavour. The pitch presentation, done by Christian Vogeli, CEO and founder, is done in a compelling, confident and convincing manner. His angled standing position, eye contact with the […]
Continue reading Dybuster – answer to dyslexia challenge Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Helen:
Great analysis. I, too, found this to be an intriguing and very necessary product as it relates to the disability of dyslexia. This specialized niche target market gives this product a distinct advantage. Before investing, the only thing I would like to see is a set of academic reviews showing the success of this product.
Of all the pitches I sifted though, this was the only one that had a really clear, “this is what we do next” in the pitch – which I really appreciated. I think a lot of the pitches lacked the message or “ask” behind the pitch.
-Lisa
NO, I would not invest in Mindtraction. Despite the compelling story presented, the apparent ease and comfort of the presenter while sharing the story, or the marketable response to an evident need, this company is not for me. The simplistic view of a mentor in your pocket conflicts with my experience and understanding of what […]
Continue reading No Mind Traction for Me Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp NO, I would not invest in this venture. After watching the video, I kept asking myself “why would I want to invest in this company?” When I think of photo sharing websites, I think of the big-name competitors: Flickr, Photobucket, and maybe even SkyDrive and Facebook. Even though they may have limitations (upload size, storage […]
Continue reading Smugmug Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I agree with you that it is important that the challenges to the venture be outlined in the pitch. It shows that the CEO and organizers have “thought it through”. When investing, you want to be confident that the developers have done their homework and researched the challenges that they will likely encounter on their way to success. It also shows transparency, which I think is vital to success.
-Lisa
Yes I would invest. This is another growing dynamic improvement. The presenter which is the CEO of Evernote seems quite passionate as he tried humbly to inform the audience of the merits of the Evernote. I am definitely drawn by the idea; “an external brain” is what we need! There seems to be […]
Continue reading EVA for Evernote Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp This project is potentially a great venue for investment. Yes, there are similar products but this product has been in the market for a while now and it has been used with almost all the operation systems of computers and tablets. So technically the product is ready for the fast growing market. What makes me […]
Continue reading Evernote: A promising project Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I would invest as an EVA also Hussain…This product is not new on the market it has been around for a little while now it seems. In fact a friend of mine just recently introduced it to me as this is what he uses daily. He seems quite fond of the product and tried to persuade me also to get on to it. It yields a lot of benefits and as the CEO of Evernote mentioned “its an external brain”! For a feasible product of such the cost is quite low and so many can have access. I do agree with you that It is a promising project…
~Shawn
Like you Shawn and Hussain, I too would invest in Evernote as an EVA. I agree that short and to-the-point presentations should not be viewed as negative. In fact, I think that long pitches should be challenged – do you really need 18 minutes to present your pitch?
Cheers,
Lisa
Hey all, I think I went a little overboard here but anyways, had a good time doing it. Sorry about all the formatting inconsistencies. Critiquing ‘Empowered Learning: A Better Way to Teach Highschool Math’ Overview From the ETEC 522 ‘pitch pool’ I chose the pitch titled ‘Empowered Learning: A Better Way to […]
Continue reading EVA for Empowered Learning…. Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Yes, I will invest in Mindtraction. The elevator pitch was presented by the founder of Mindtraction which showed some credibility. The pitch included background information as to what Mindtraction is for and what is its main purpose. The elevator pitch also states clearly the target audience for Mindtraction. The pitch gives us information as to […]
Continue reading EVA for Mindtraction Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp I chose to review Myngle a venture in global language learning. The selling point of Myngle is that it will allow students to take lessons anywhere and anytime so it is like a multi-language online school. However, the elevator pitch lacks clarification it mentions that Myngle can be used globally but it does not provide […]
Continue reading EVA for Myngle Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hi Karon,
Even though it’s not explicitly stated, I think enthusiasm is so important in any venture pitch. If the person is not excited about what they are doing, it almost seems as though they don’t have the enthusiasm to push the venture forward and develop it to its full potential. Would you agree?
Lisa
I chose to review a Dragon’s Den pitch from season five about the Ethical Oceans venture. The pitch was delivered by Tony Hancock and David Damderger from Calgary who were asking the dragons for $150,000 for 20% of their company which they had valued at $750,000. CEO Credibility and Management Team The presenters seemed […]
Continue reading EVA – Ethical Oceans Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp Although I find the idea presented in this elevator pitch intriguing and feasible, I find the pitch lacks certain elements that would convince me to invest. Credibility and Management: Although mention is made of a strong management team with years of experience, the presenter never provides his own name or position. In addition, the presenter’s […]
Continue reading EVA Analysis of CloudConnect Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
Hi Tim,
You raised a good point about being able to see the person making the pitch. There is a great deal of information that is delivered non-verbally and being able to see the person making the pitch would probably have enhanced the presentation. It’s difficult to provide all the information a potential investor would be looking for in an elevator pitch. I think there’s a balancing act between trying to be engaging and communicating critical information. I guess we’ll have an opportunity to figure this one out for ourselves in our final assignment!
Deborah
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
Danielle 6:43 pm on May 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi David,
I think this polling plug-in is a great idea! And I think you will get a more accurate indication of what students really think if the previous responses are hidden.
Danielle