I’ve done tons of research into this. Many of the celebrities that I have mention already work with one another. Oprah is actually quite passionate about saving the environment and taking the right steps into making a change. There is already just single shows here and there focused on helping the planet such as Daily Planet. What I am suggested is a Green Network. If you take a look at my financial projects, you will understand how the project will unfold. I have already mentioned the host which is the management team. I chose the bigger and most influential players.

d.

d.

I teach internet security in my field and many like us in this course make ourselves vulnerable to hackers and identity theives by posting too much about ourselves in public. Believe me, getting his picture for the pitch was done with some reticence.
I think the fact he did not mention this top secret invention to me after knowing him for 7 years until I enquired about telerobotics and how I could move forward speaks volumes to me about him. He is not out boasting, but holding this very key card close to his chest..I hope he gets this out before too much time passes. I have no vested interest in the venture except to hope it could help me and others in the future
.K

Adam

As a formal EVA for your venture, let me start by congratulating you for the excellent work you did. Both your elevator and full pitch were clearly and professionally drafted. As you noted, despite the visual impact of videos, I agree that persuasive words still have their own charm.

I find your venture has many positive points such as;
- Market Focus; it’s approaching BC students as a starting phase.

- Distinguishing your service by emphasizing on the “Real”, qualified and certified tutors who are operating the service.

- The parents reports the web site will provide automatically.

But in order to decide for an investment decision to go or no go, crucial information was missing, most importantly is the venture $ value you’re looking for. So assuming you’ll provided further appendices to your venture proposal, I would encourage you to cover the following;
- How would HomeWorkClub.bc.ca would compete with the “Free” LearnNowBC.com ?!

- Please provide statistics tables of BC students (ps: the link http://www.ciponline.ca/en/intro.htm took me to a blank page)

- I was under the impression that your venture would provide 1-to-1 tutoring within the default subscription service, then I found it’s provided for extra cost. Worth re-considering as parent will buy in based on this service.

- How about off-shore BC schools? Worth considering them and note that 4 to 10:00 PM time zone might not suite them.

As said, I will hold back my decision until I read the second round draft.

Good luck,

Thanks for your criitique. My venture is in its infancy so I don’t have team yet. The clinic can accomodate quite a number of students (this year over 120) so this wouldn’t be a problem as I don’t foresee that many applicants. I didn’t send you my reflections page and you touched on many of my own concerns. My plan is to repurpose existing courseware so it would be updated. You hit the nail on the head with the funding. If it is run under the auspices of UBC Dentistry, there wouldn’t be much pay-back for investors. If this was strictly private, access to the course material would be challenging. Recreating the content wheel would be very time consuming.

I am unable to access your presentation even though you sent me the link.

Certainly, including DL in offshore schools is a great idea, especially since both are BC accredited. This way students have choice.

And, I believe that DL will be eventually and inevitably become the new norm; it is just a matter of time.

I look forward to viewing your pitch if you choose to send the link to me again. After all, you are definitely on to something here.

Cheers,

Barrie

I viewed your e-portfolio — very nice. And, congratulations on completing the MET program; you must be elated.

Please say ‘Hello’ to Tenney for me; I would really appreciate it.

Best wishes,

Barrie

To Barbara and Dawinder:
Thank you for appreciating the 30 second pitch. I worked hard to pack it all in with a punch.

Excellent work you did.

This is not a formal EVA feedback, but what I felt while reviewing your work that it’s more of a Scholar Essay, though an excellent one that I learned a lot from. I liked the ICT Waves classification you raised. I also agree with your concern about tax payers impression of “gaming” project, makes me wonder if I consider the famous TV show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” a game or a knowledge quest?!! , I think if you add to your venture a good marketing/awareness campaign about the benefits of your project/venture then it might help overcoming that risk.

Good luck : )

Excellent job you did with the detailed write up about your Black Box – Virtual Science Lab venture, I enjoyed your presentation.

I agree with the challenges you raised in the “Challenges for the Black Box” page, I think your venture should first approach Vernier for partnership. If that doesn’t work out, I would recommend you ask for more seed money to design a “generic” Black Box that would support Vernier and other competitive products (reminds me with the Recombo venture we had at the beginning of this course : )

Good luck with your venture.

Great idea !!
I like the fact that you utilized your past experience you had with Assignment 2 (Mobile Learning Technologies – Blue Tooth Technology) , this will add more credibility I think to your venture as you’re on top of industry know how.

I like also what you mentioned in slide 14 (school reputation), as a parent who is now relocating from one country to another and looking for new school for my kids, I’m picking prospect schools based on how good is their web site, so I have a top 3 list that I will definitely choose one after I take a campus tour. I imagine if one school would give me your Talking Points idea, I will sure go for it.

Good luck with your venture.

I will keep the toast comment in mind when I pitch this to my boss later this month….lol

I appreciate your comments.

Thanks,
Annette

I guess I should have defined continuing education a bit more, although I thought that mentioning the topics for the 4 programs we have planned would sort of help. We provide training related to topics and methodologies that are needed by social workers and human service workers. We don’t provide medical training, but we do teach case management and leadership for health care workers.

Most of our instructors teach practical applications of research and theory. One of the most in-demand programs is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which is used in everything from mental health to addictions and also management.

We don’t try to be all things to all people, but we do try to respond to the demands of the community. So if students want to be taught Mindfulness Meditation for psychotherapy then we find an instructor who will teach it and set up the program.

The online programs are trying to respond to the needs of our community, and the requests we get from places like Alberta and New Brunswick. I think the only way to grow a business like this is to listen and then react quickly to the demand.

Thanks for your comments, they help me clarify my thoughts on the pitch.

Annette

I am 1/2 done now but finishing seems a long way off. Best wishes to everyone for a safe and restful break. Hope to see some of you again in other courses, or on the MET ning.

Cheers,
Annette

PS – Smartboard’s been good so far…just had it for a few weeks now. Just haven’t had the time to develop lessons like I want to yet but the kids seem to be enjoying it so far. Can’t wait to use to the lesson from CSED with my students.

Cheers!

Ernie

Thanks for the in-depth reviews! Bev, you’re right. In order to do implement Moodle properly across any school district, tech-support needs to be in place. This could potentially be very expensive depending on the size of the district, how many teachers or schools are on board with Moodle, and the school board’s budget.

Barbara, you’ve also outlined many important points as well. ROI is a very difficult one since my pitch is not meant to make money. In hindsight, perhaps something tangible like grade or assessment indicators following implementation of Moodle as a support mechanism would provide useful information as to whether Moodle is working or not. Piloting this project at a few schools first would also be a good strategy depending on the size of the school district. This would particularity be beneficial with large districts to ensure budgets aren’t being spent on something that isn’t working. Thanks for the advice.

Cheers!

Ernie

Thanks for the feedback. You’re right, the word “free” is always a tricky one because it can make people skeptical. I used it to try and ‘hook’ viewers to look at my full pitch. In hindsight, perhaps this may have been 50/50 success? I don’t know. Maybe a different approach or word may have conveyed the same message without the skepticism factor.

Cheers!

Ernie

I did look at your full pitch in more detail. I must admit that I may be a bit biased as I am an avid Moodle user and have heard of Sloodle before. I was most intrigued by what it can do and what your plan is.

In your executive summary, I like how you mention that this product would be ready for an educational market such that in Japan. I’m not sure here in North America, parents would be as accepting or open-minded to this type of learning platform at this point in time. Starting in Japan then expanding elsewhere is a good strategy.

I thought you did a great job in your pitch slide/video presentation. You provided some background information about the parent company, market demand, role of Moodle, integration of Sloodle, business model, competing schools, costs, and your target audience. Most importantly, you have answered some really important questions I would have as an educational software investor…”what does it do and how would it help students learn?” You seem to have mentioned financial data throughout your presentation, both means of revenues and projected costs. Numbers such as these are always difficult to predict and are merely estimates. Nonetheless, having some estimates shows you have considered these financial aspects in your business model. Well done. I think you have the makings of a strong pitch and it would be worth of potential investment.

Cheers!

Ernie

Good use of flash on your elevator pitch. After seeing that it made me want to redo my own elevator pitch using flash. I did not have any problems playing it like other before me.

Your pitch really got my attention and if that was the goal I think it was really successfull.

Good job.

Wow… great elevator pitch. I have not used prezi before but after your elevator pitch I think I might have to introduce myself and my students to this great tool.

As a programming teacher myselft I enjoyed your ptich. It is great to see new programs out their that make a difficult subject matter interesting to students. I did not see your full pitch but would PIE be similar to gaming software like gamemaker and scratch? How large would the target market be? Im lucky I teach in a large high school where we have the opportunity to run full classes of Programming 11 and 12. But I understand many other smaller districts and highschools don’t have the numbers or teachers to run programs like this. Would there be a large enough market?

Take care,

Cheers!

Ernie

Well done. A very polished venture pitch. I really like the combination of visuals, background music topped with your voice. Good job editing all three of these together.

Your venture pitch is similar to my own. I really belive your venture can be successfull because many teachers are looking for a platform which with do this.

I have to say this was one top 3 put together venture pitches that I have seen.

Good job.

In terms of your full pitch, I liked the blog format you have selected to present your pitch. You have done a good job summarizing what your Green Network is all about and how it will work. Your idea of getting high profile celebrities to be involved with your Green Network is a brilliant idea. It could potentially create a positive image for both your product and the celebrity him/her-self, thus the relationship would be mutually beneficial. I also enjoyed the videos that you have provided in your presentation. To the prospective investor, they help to make the investor visualize and realize the many problems that our society faces in terms of the environment. In my opinion, it helps to get them onside…a very good strategy! Your teachertube.com idea is a worthy idea that gets kids educated and involved in environmental issues. Kids are often even better advocates of the environment than their parents (in fact, many go home and teach their parents to be more environmentally conscious) so this is very wise strategy as well. Finally, the financials you have provided would help to solidify your pitch as one worthy of investment.

Excellent job, Jennie!

Ernie

PS – I won’t knock you on Tiger, since that is too recent news!

As the others before I was also a little confused of what your pitch was but then reliezed what you were after. I also believe their is a digital divide.

Within our district Im currently in the process of conducting a research study that will deal with some of the issues you mentioned in your district technology plan analysis. I agree with you that many districts approach technology top down. They purchase hardware/ software and the expect teachers will automaticaly use it. This does not happen. Many teachers require a lot of training before they are confortable with anything.

As Barbara mentioned in the previous post, you have some great ideas but you need to present them in away that will gather and sustain an audience. Creating a video could surely help.

Overall good job!

I thought your pitch was very good. I would say the full pitch is a little repetitive in the audience you are targeting (Teachers, staff, students and parents. As others have commented the business case is not very clear. Since this is in a school environment it is not clear where the money is made. You mention that there will be ads, how is this accepted by the parents, teachers and government authorities? Even if this were feasible and accepted, it is hard to believe without more details that the investment would have a payback in 6 to 12 months. I think that the team that you present looks strong, the alliances with the union and the government make for a winning proposition. I think that the service you are offering although very constructive and efficient might not be adopted that quickly due to the low internet penetration. I would want to see an effort in training or marketing or change management to be willing to invest as a social project. Great visual presentation!

I created this pitch because I really wanted a system like this within our district. One system that runs everything. I see some of the limitation in my pitch but I hope this fictional product will come a reality soon. I think it would really make a difference.

Its a large platform which would probably require a large company to invest in or take over.

Take care,

I really enjoyed your 30 sec elevator pitch. It was well put together. Within a short period of time you where able effectively provide a lot of information. Having gone through WHMIS training in the past, I feel your venture has some good chances for success. Written format I went through many years back was very static and one dimensional. Your sim version offers great advantages.

I liked your pitch. I agree that we need to teach kids to program in a more exciting way. I liked your approach to making it it more relevant for today’s kids. I am skeptical about programming becoming mainstream for younger kids, unfortunately. I think that if you change your pitch to target after school activities it would appeal more to me as an investment possibility

I think your elevator pitch is very compelling. It is very clear and presents an almost no brainer business case. This venture will cannibalize the 2 year program but if you don’t do it someone else will. So it is best to be the first to reinvent yourself. Congratulations on the presentation.

As mentioned by a few students earlier, I had a hard time locating your elevator pitch. This gave me the chance to look at your full pitch which I found very interesting. Although I don’t have a background in disaster relief I can see how your pitch could be a usefull asset for government agencies look to control costs and become more effiicient with information management.

Like others have mentioned before me I think disaster management is a growing industry which would value a product like yours.

One thing that would have been more usefull would have been more clear financial information. You mentioned their were contracts secured with government. What is the value of these contracts?

Overall great pitch and good idea.

Dawinder

I had a hard time downloading your elevator pitch. I couldn’t download it in Firefox so i went to IE and the first tiem i had audio and no visuals and the second i got both. It sounds like a good venture, particularly if your competition is all text. I think your slides are a little busy and hard to read although you did a great job with the audio in 30s.

This is also my last MET course. It feels good to be finally done.

Cheers,
Dawinder

Adam, I am looking at this as an EVA. Initially looking at your pitch i did not understand anything. For me it was not “down to earth enough”, i “did not get it”. Had i had 1 more engaging elevator pitch i would not have seen your full pitch. Now looking at the in depth pitch i find it very attractive from an investment point of view.
Your market from what i see are the overseas students wanting to learn English as a foreign language and engage in day to day activities over a period of time in a cost efficient manner. I think the market for this is HUGE and focusing on Japan, a “rich” economy is a good strategy. Merging Moodle and Second Life is brilliant because you achieve your objective very well. I am a little skeptical about your financial numbers. 100K to develop the product and market it in a foreign country seems a little low. Also your 3rd year expenses are substantially lower than your 2nd year which is very hard to believe. I think you have a very promising venture that has potential all over the world, and i believe that if you are online and successful in one country you will get spill over from other countries. Before i invested i would like to see more detailed expenses and revenue projections.

Jen

Thanks so much for all of your reviews. The concerns listed in some of your posts are very valid, and issues I face at work when we are trying to get funding for our projects. Yes, Barrie, because we are government, change does not happen quickly. After reviewing so many other pitches, I agree, a name and a demonstration of the art would have probably made this pitch stronger.

In regards to my elevator pitch, I know that the black screen is distracting and I was disappointed with it. However, I just downloaded a new program (Premiere Elements), and I was struggling to figure out how it worked. I actually started the presentation in Captivate, at work with a mic, but I ran into trouble finishing there, thought I could carry on at home, and nothing worked. So, I am not trying to make excuses, but at least everyone can know that it wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to turn out either. Eveline, I know it was long, and I didn’t like it like that either. I promise, when I practiced saying it, I did it in 30 seconds.

Anyway, I really appreciate your responses and insight. This has been a fun process.

All the best,
Amy

You mention a video. I have not seen it but i think you need to sell your point better. From what i am reading here it is a very common problem and a great need for someone to come up with a creative solution. You need to get people’s attention with a simple compelling message. I think you have studied the problem thoroughly and have thought through what needs to be done. I believe you need to present it more convincingly. Remember budgets are very small and getting squeezed constantly. Why invest in this rather than in another pressing matter. Good luck

I think this venture is very useful and definitely relevant to the world and global warming and what it implies. I believe the funding is probably available because of this relevance. You need to be more specific and more of a salesperson in your presentation. And your sales pitch has to be easier to find. Congrats on the effort

Thanks for sharing your pitch. Like Ernie, I found it interesting to see what a professional pitch looks like.

Ervything is clear: your comany, vision, product, market and opportunity. It seesm that your business model is what most online social media comanies are doing; that is, offer a free consdensed version and then charging for more. I also like how you offer different scenerios for different potential markets.

I like your concept. It makes sense. In fact, I’ve seen others attempting to do the same thing (although, not to the scale that you are). For example: Seesmic combines Facebook and Twitter into one place. But that brings me to the only thing that would hesitate me from investing — competition. I think products like your is the next logical step and I’m guessing others will follow soon. Have you forseen this? And what have you planned to counteract a growth in this market?

Good luck and thanks for sharing.

Sean

Congratulations on the clear and very visual presentation of this project.

Your full pitch was very well done. I must say, your voice sounds very professional and not boring…helped to keep me engaged in your presentation. You have done a great job laying out the background related information, your business plan, financial implications, customer base, and competition. You’ve clearly discussed how your product can benefit your target audience and outline how it can compete in the market. Your financials that you have provided are convincing and would help to solidify your pitch as one worthy of investing in. As an EVA, I would most certainly invest in your venture.

Congratulations! Great job!

Ernie

I am back for a more in-depth review
I think that this concept is great- creating interactive games to teach social studies concepts- that being said

- I think your focus on finding something that will excite,motivate, and teach the high-school boy crowd is a really important one- although I wouldn’t dismiss the girls either. Girls will get just as excited about this if it is intelligent and challenging- not just blowing things up. More and more indicators are raising red-flags about the status of boys and education.
-I do think your concept is excellent.
-I think individual teachers are the ones who would be buying this game. As mentioned in my previous post I would market this though workshops- conventions etc. It needs to be in their hands or it will never get used.
-Your target market is relatively small for the large investment you require to get this project off the ground. I suspect you are right in believing this topic is somewhere in the curriculum’s across the country- but that is still a small market. Is the objective of this concept meant to lead students to an understanding of Canadian sovereignty? If it is, that does limit it to a Canadian market. If the topic was a bit broader it might appeal to more of the allied countries as well- but that might miss the point.
-It would be very difficult to export this product as it stands- although it could provide a model for other countries wishing to do the same thing.
- In terms of competition, it doesn’t appear that there is anything out there like this. Teachers are using textbooks and movies to deliver this content. This is a far more motivating way to deliver these concepts.

I think you have a great idea- but I think you have a very limited market for the costs involved- meaning my return would not be that great. If I was to invest in this project I would want to see the product appeal to a greater market .

Great idea! A network to showcase programming that inspires people to become more green while raking in the advertising revenue of all these new environmentally friendly products. Like others, I am baffled as to why this doesn’t currently exist. Make sure to sell episodes of your best shows on iTunes to those Yaletown hippies to watch while taking the Skytrain to yoga class!

Your pitch does a good job of answering many questions including what this product is about, what it does, company background, and vision. I like how this product consolidates many of the social media products already used and out in the market. My only question are, is there a cost to using it? And, what is the competition?

Cheers!

Ernie

I remember when there was a big fuss about Bill Gates deleting his Facebook profile because he felt maintaining an online presence consumed too much time for not enough pay-out. Maybe he’ll be one of your first investors! Clearly this is a much needed tool.

Is it cell phone browser friendly? I have to say, I didn’t understand the appeal of many social networks (like Twitter) until I had an iPhone and a 1 hour commute on the bus.

Best of luck on the launch on Monday!

Ernie

My only question is, you mentioned that SalaDeMaestros.com is a part of TeacherPlanIt.com. Is this other website a large or well-known one that most teachers in Baja California, Mexico or other local markets?

Ernie

Although I had trouble finding the elevator pitch, I liked the idea behind your presentation very much. As part of the Search and Rescue Team at my school, I can speak to my market (the public education system). I know how much my school board wants to invest in improving the training of teachers in case of an earthquake. Since schools and school grounds will likely become a major muster point in any large-scale disaster, I suspect that the government would want teachers to have had some training in this regard.

Ernie

My only minor concern was that I couldn’t read the text on some of the slides as there was a fair amount of text and/or some of them were a little small when put onto the video. Certainly didn’t take away from the ideas that you talked about though.

Well done!

Ernie

Cheers!

Ernie

I had the same troubles as Adam, although I suspect it may have to do with my version of quicktime being out-of-date. However, the idea is great – I can’t imagine any training in the world in more need of becoming more engaging than WHIMIS training!

The criticism I have is which is your 30 second elevator pitch? I would have though that this website you have provided was your full on pitch.

Well done!

Ernie

First of all, thank you for this well-constructed, engaging pitch! Through your voice and professional-quality video presentation, you give off a strong vibe of competence and professionalism.

In response to Greg’s comment about profiting from teachers’ hard work for free, I would want to point out that teachers that share would also profit as they would be able to gain access to a lot of other resources. It may not be as hard a sell as Greg says, especially if there is nothing like this in Baja at the moment.

To me, the quality and accessibility of the shared content is the biggest concern. I’ve been to sites like these and I am rarely impressed by the materials that I see there, or I am overwhelmed by the amount of materials there are, so much so that it is beyond my patience to sift through it all for a math worksheet that I could probably whip up in 1/2 hour. If you solve these problems, then teachers will come.

Thanks again.

I would be very interested in funding this venture- although I would like to have more financial information before I signed on the dotted line.

Eveline

I have to say Annette, your long pitch is extremely detailed and convicing! You had the advantage of having a well defined business model, clearly though-out revenue plan, and pre-existing management structure, and you communicated these details very well, lending great confidence in your team and product.

Your exploration of target markets (including international markets) and potential customers left no doubts in my mind that the potential for your company is worth taking a risk on.

The only thing that I can criticize is the elevator pitch was not terribly engaging. It would be a shame if potential investors turned away at the very beginning because of this, but with the strength of your product, you could spell it out on a piece of toast and probably still find people willing to put money into it!

Fantastic job, Annette.

The human service workers includes everyone from RNs and social workers to personal care workers. Most of the material would be covering things like applying theory or research to practice like managing cases or using psychotherapies.

Have a great holiday! Hope to see you in future courses.
Annette

As an investor I would have liked to see more about you and the management team. They would have to be fairly formidable to manage the egos of The Donald and Oprah.

I think I would be willing to invest in this venture for a number of reasons. First, you obviously have credibility or you would not have been able to get commitments from so many stars. Second, this is a very current topic and many people want to know more. Finally, the pitch was well thought out and designed.

Before I sign on the dotted line though, I would want to see a detailed business plan and CVs of the team.

Great job!
Annette

Thanks again for your support.
Bev

The pitch was great, the music and the visuals really worked well together and I could tell that you did considerable research on the market and similar products. In a time when our iPhones can rent a car for us, and be used as a level, I suppose there is a market for a product that can combine an audio monitor, a nanny cam, a video monitor, a picture frame, a story book, a mobile, a night light, and a parent. Now if it could just change diapers you would have the whole thing covered.

I think, as an investor, I would need to see more information on the management team and a more detailed financial plan before I could commit my dollars to this venture.

With the recent debunking of the “baby einstein” myth, I think the suggestion that an educational psychologist be involved is a very important one. You could do for infants what Sesame Street did for toddlers and preschoolers with a product like this.

Hope the arrival of your test subject went well, and that everyone is healthy.

Cheers,
Annette

I agree with your assessment that teacher technology training is sorely lacking. This is the case in my district as well (39) and I suspect every district.

However, I also wonder if this is the result of an intrinsic flaw in the top-down model for introducing technology, where the district decides what to use and then trains teachers to use it. I wonder what would happen if the district supported “grass-roots” technology projects started by ambitious teachers themselves?

First off, your elevator pitch is well crafted and well spoken. I’ve seen commercials on TV that were inferior to your pitch! It certainly does the job an elevator pitch should – explaining exactly what you do in such a way as to intrigue me, as an investor, to find out more.

Typos aside, your choice of newspaper format was a creative way to explain the details of your business. It allowed me to get a sense for the personalities involved and other intangibles that a stiff powerpoint presentation would have failed at. This being a fictional production, it was difficult to turn off my “snakeoil salesman” radar, but if this was a real newspaper and Heart Break Helen was a trusted e-learning expert, this would lend credibility to your venture.

You did a good job pointing out the weaknesses of your venture. Unfortunately I think these are substantial. Convincing clients that you are a necessary part of their tutoring company when you are using tools that they can get by themselves is difficult. You mention that it’s not the tools but the expertise one how to use these tools that you’re selling, but considering this fact and the small scale economy represented by your market, I don’t know how much you can realistically expect to charge.

Nonetheless, you forestall some of this through your well-constructed breakdown of the potential for the e-tutoring market. I think you will be able to find investors for your project!

I’m not sure if I would invest in LM Academy. It seems to be filling a niche market (wealthy families) in Ontario, and I am not sure from your pitch that there is a large enough market in this area to make me as an investor a great deal of profit. If, as has been suggested by several other reviewers, you were to expand to include IB credit for Asian and European markets, then I think you would have more luck finding venture capitalists willing to invest.

I think the idea is fantastic, being able to connect students with real-world experience at a younger age could engage many more students in global issues. As has also been mentioned, it would also prepare them for the next step, university.

Your elevator pitch was very engaging. I found that the visuals matched well with the audience and content. I am not sure that zentation worked that well for your full pitch. I found myself trying to read your slides and losing track of the video. Also the demo of the LMS was hard to see in the small window for the video.

This is a good idea, with a well thought out pitch. The information was great and very well researched, but I think that you would need to expand the idea considerably before I would commit. Plus you would need a crack legal team to deal with all the permission forms the parents would have to fill out. When I was 16 I think Madrid at 4am would have sounded very enticing…

Cheers,
Annette

I think you could eventually expand your venture to include many more markets.

Your pitch was clear, and the elevator pitch made me want to know more.

Cheers,
Annette

I really enjoyed the creativity of the newsletter. I think it speaks to the creativity you bring to this venture, and as it seems to be a primarily one-man show, that is very important.

I think the market for individual tutors is large, it certainly is in Toronto where I am. Given that, there would be a large market for you and your services. Bringing tutors to OSS solutions and free software is a brilliant idea, and after seeing your pitch I would have to say that you seem to have the tools to bring it to fruition.

Good luck!
Annette

You have done a fantastic job of presenting all aspects of this venture. There is very little that I can think of that was not elaborated on. The short length of this assessment is testament to the thoroughness of your proposal. The benefits of this venture are clear and sound. Not only is it a worthy humanitarian effort, it seeks to revolutionize education in a way that even developed countries have yet to pursue.

My only concern is a simple yet important one. In your presentation, you state that while there is an extensive 3G network throughout the country, there is often a lack of electricity in certain parts of the country. As such, how would participants in those regions charge their phones?

I worry about consolidating all my net bits in one place. I guess I want to preserve the divide between the private, family me and my professional persona. I am not convinced yet that gleanr would help me preserve what little privacy I have left (but the holiday break is coming and I may yet become hooked). I suppose I would want to have two gleanr accounts to accomplish this separation, but I am not sure how that would work and might miss the point entirely.

I think the product is interesting, and the simplicity of operation is attractive. I like the idea of consolidating when so much of our online selves is spread out over many applications and services. It could be a solution to the problem of getting spread too thin to be coherent.

The basic pitch is clear and engaging. Enough so that it pulled me away from my final 512 paper…

I look forward to seeing how this product evolves.

Cheers,
Annette

In listening to your venture proposal, I immediately liked the simplicity of your idea. It is a sound and financially viable solution for many of the markets that you are targeting. You have also covered many of the potential concerns that customers may be concerned about. Despite that, there are several areas that I would like to learn more about before proceeding further as an investor.

I understand that part of the reason for the low costs of your product is that you use recycled computers and refurbish them.
As an educator, it is important to me that when I am teaching a class that the hardware remains similar so that even a simple instruction such as turning on monitors does not result in confusion which may occur if there are five different types of monitors in the room.

As a business operator, I know that many office workers prefer to use laptops so that they can work from different locations. Would this be a possibility when away from the main server?

As a home user, I know that many children like to play games.
Many of these games are not programmed for Linux operating systems. Does this mean that they would not be able to use the diverse titles that are on the market?

For all users, I know that computers do break down from time to time. What kind of service do you provide and how would this affect businesses or schools that already employ computer technicians?

Overall, I think that your proposal has sound applications but that with the low costs, there are also clearly sacrifices that must be made.

I found that your pitch was a bit too plain and simple – but that was the point so I understand your approach.

The venture seems to be quite diverse with products from LMSs to content creation and software development, as well as consultancy and support services. The current deployment of the system (the whole thing seems like a system to me) is impressive and demonstrates market readiness. I agree that this predicts success in moving into other markets like Canada and Asia.

The only references to costs and pricing is the fact that the software developers are in Argentina, where labour costs are presumably lower than Canada or Europe. I would be interested in knowing where the management, design and service staff are, and whether they are also a low-cost part of the company.

My only real concern is the open-source nature of the software you are producing. Is the OSS community involved in the production of the product? How are you protecting your investment in R & D? Is the company more focused on support and consultancy services? If this is the case then the greatest costs will be the content creators and support staff.

I would need a more thorough look at the business model before investing in e-ducativa, and would need to understand more about how the system is structured, but I think the pitch intrigued me enough to want to learn more.

Well done!
Annette

Your venture touches upon some of the exciting new technological changes that are currently emerging in stores. Added to the appeal of this new technology is the idea that parents can now purchase a product that now only helps them monitor the safety of their child but also helps their child learn. Your product promises many things among which include a baby mobile, a child learning centre, a webcam, and a home safety monitoring system. The fact that it is so versatile and is able to used in different modalities makes it immediately attractive to a larger audience than were it to be used as only a baby monitor. In talking about its versatility, you also discuss how it could be altered for other purposes including the option of downloading additional software. I foresee additional benefits such as the acquisition of second languages through this device.

You address obvious parental concerns regarding safety. However, there are further safety concerns that I would have as a parent that were not raised. These same concerns may be pertinent to potential investors as they may be sources of future liability. These include the strength of the arm that is used to attach the mobile to the crib, the safety risks associated with having electronic equipment (particularly wireless technology) so close to an area in which a baby will spend many hours of their time sleeping, as well as the effects of what amounts to sticking a child in front of a television screen for prolonged periods of time.

Overall, I think that you have made a sound proposal. It is evident that there is a large market of potential parents out there who would be eager for such a product. However, until some of the safety concerns have been worked out, I think that many people will wait until the product has been “perfected” before buying.

I too am a bit lacking in understanding of advanced computing, but from your pitch I was able to understand the concept of ANSI and can see its implications. It seems to be a successful project in its pilot phase, and obviously has a huge market in medicine and military applications.

The pitch outlined a 2-5 year timeline for commercial development, which makes sense to me given the nature of the product. There could have been more information on the financial structure, but I would (as an investor) be willing to sign a NDA to get that information.

My only concern with the venture is the imminent retirement of the inventor. The lack of middle management and description of who will take over the creative aspect of the company when he is gone makes me nervous. So much of the pitch was based on his personal credibility that I wonder how the company will go on being so innovative when he is golfing full time.

I would be willing to investigate this venture further, but I am concerned for the long-term stability of a product based on one person’s abilities.

I also had some problems getting the audio to synch with the slides, but it was not such a big deterrent for me.

Good job!
Annette

The WHMIS training is a fascinatingly untouched market (as far as simulation training). I know people who work in the safety training industry (as mentioned in the URL link I posted in my reply to Omar) and the training being implemented today is still text based.

Thank you for your comments.

In response to the simulation development by students: that is ONLY for the development of the school safety lesson plans that Science, Auto tech, Woodworking and Art teachers typically give on the first day of school.

As far as the government legislated WHMIS program that would be used by industry, that would be developed by my team of highly trained software developers.

And in response to the global market…I mentioned that because a big change happening right now is global harmonization of hazardous labelling. Much the same way that if I go to another country, I can identify “kilometres” as an international unit of measure, I should also be able to identify “biohazard” and not have to learn a new system of labelling in every country that I am in.

Because these are happening in real time right now, I thought I would pounce on this e-Venture opportunity, even if it is just an imaginative business proposal.

Your pitch delivered a clear vision and definition of the market. The company seems to have good partnerships and the TEFL certification gives credence to the venture.

The presentation was engaging, although I agree the hum was a bit distracting. The audio matched the slides, so I was not trying to read and listen to different things, which can be more distracting than any hum. As a gamer, I think that the simulations sound really interesting, and provide that hands-on type of training that ESL teachers need.

My only issue with the pitch was the lack of information on the specific team that would be leading this venture, and the fact that there was no financial information.

This pitch would be sufficient to get me to ask for more information, but I would not be willing to commit funds until I had seen a robust financial outlook for the company.

All in all a good pitch!

Annette

I think the pitch element comparing success of boys and girls at the start was a wonderful hook to get investors interested.

I really like the concept but am concerned from the market perspective that you are narrowing your market too much and that there exists a large number of products out there that provide a broader scope of material than you are offering.

You mention that the potential high school market across Canada is 165 million dollars in total resource spending however, one of the selling features of your simulation is that it is target to the BC social studies 11 curriculum. Here you have eliminated a vast amount of that 165 million by chopping all provinces that don’t follow these specific curriculum goals for socials 11 and eliminated all other courses – I think that you will find the amount of money spent by socials 11 teacher in BC is significantly less that your initial market.

As for competition, I really like that you are proposing a web-based platform since you remove some of the tech challenges for schools and also allow students to engage at home . However, you are also competing against products that have significantly larger development budgets. In addition to the Making History Canada you mentioned, students have shown me http://making-history.com/ which seems to compete directly with your product and opens markets for all Canada, US, and Europe since it allows you to take the role of any country involved in the war and test out how decisions would affect to outcome. WWII is also the most popular historical period to be used in a video game timeline – while a lot of these wouldn’t be applicable in a teaching venue, will students fell the market saturation? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_video_games

Then again, perhaps the popularity of these simulations suggests that the market supports simulations around this time period?

You have done a great job outlining a budget. However, it seems a little low compared to the development of other high-quality simulations and I’m not sure that the market you are targeting is robust enough to support the cost. As we mentioned in our Serious Games unit, the K-12 market is very challenging to enter because it has high demands (kids are used to the quality of commercial product), narrow markets (limited based on curriculum requirements), and shallow pockets (although your price seems very reasonable). You don’t mention how many other provinces include the Dieppe raid in their curriculum but there are only 197 highschools in BC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:High_schools_in_British_Columbia) meaning you are going to need an incredibly high adoption rate in order to break even.

As an EVA, based on the high cost, limited market I am going to have to say no to investing in this venture.

It sounds like your TEFL certification is an abbreviated one for a specific market of EFL providers in southeast asia as an improved online version of existing training. I can see these companies you mention being interested to combine with at least one face to face meeting with prospective teachers in Vancouver.

I’ve come back for a more in-depth review. As a teacher who teaches with Python I think the proposal is very sound, engaging, and would offer something very attractive to new computer science teachers. Having been faced with the challenge 3 years ago of choosing which language to prepare my students with (I battled between Java, C, C++ for a long time – decided on Java and then pulled a last second switch to Python after a bit more research) I think your pitch would sway a lot of decision makers to at least give Python a try and check out your site.

The cost is a little bit of a concern for me and while I think you would definitely hit the break even mark, I think you could do a bit better. While $900 is very reasonable, it is also a large chunk of a yearly IT budget (I need to run my entire program – of which programming is only a small part on $2000) is a environment when a lot of computer classes are shrinking. With educational discounts, I purchased the Gamemaker platform I use for $12 per seat and I can get entry-level Adobe products for about $30. The Gamemaker is the best competition comparison I can think of and with it I get the programming environment and access to loads of free tutorials, and a large community of developers working together for support

Additionally, there seems to be a plan to further development with a social networking version – how do you maintain the income of funds?

I might consider a lower price for the product and aim at a higher number of adopters OR since the software is free and there are other python-based game shells out there (for free) – look at a yearly subscription to your site that would allow entry into the PyBot Wars competition and a platform for future social networking applications – this would allow for ongoing funding of development.

On the otherhand, if this is something you are doing anyway for your classes – the one-shot $15000 break even might be just what you are looking for as a profile booster.

A very sound pitch – market is out there, investment is reasonable, product looks pretty good; I’m in.

Well researched and packaged. I like the use of celebrities and corporate leaders promoting green because it makes it more of a positive role modeling activity than an admonishing or guilt instilling one. I like the incentives used for trend setters, and the sensationalist aspect of it. This all makes for something people would watch and sponsors would get the exposure they want. It would make it a grassroots as well as corporate effort. Kennedy decided to put a man on the moon, but this might prompt a political leader to get exposure and public support to start an inspiring project like urban replanning, reduction of packaging, reforesting, or cleaning up the pacific.

Your pitch and venture played for me. The venture was a little slow to load.
Well done on the presentation. The elevator pitch was well packaged with just enough information to hook. I haven’t seen all the venture video yet or done an indepth analysis of it. I did like the way you covered each aspect of the cube and described your team expertise with a wink. I don’t know much about whimis but I remember seeing a primitive limited kiosk like simulation on CD about 9 years ago. I imagine it would be a lot easier to do something much better now.

-your description is clear and convincing
-you connect you professional experience
-you did not scare off the audience with high cost and tech language
-practical goals that focus on ultimately keeping cost low and improving student learning.

Can you compete with the cost of Computer’s For Schools for hardware?

Nice work.

I would be a bit reluctant as an investor to expand into larger global markets as I think one of the attractions for your business venture is the expertise and familiarity you bring in catering to the North American market. As well as knowledge of what infrastructure is typically available in schools and the content for the WHIMIS course based on local laws. So keeping your market focused on a more regional basis would be more attractive for me. I really like that you have included a price for your service and a solid analysis of comparisons with other similar service providers. The risk analysis creates a perception on the part of a potential investor that this venture has been well thought out and the identification of your niche in providing WHIMIS training in the K-12 market.

Overall your presentation is a total thumbs up and I would definitely invest in this venture. I would be a bit hesitant on the development aspects of the product (simulation) by students (?) if I got that right but I like the potential for return (profits) without the high cost of industry professionals and feel that the quality would be at a good standard.

I found your pitch for TEFL certification on the net very appealing and you do a good job of presenting the benefits of this certification in an attractive fashion with the powerpoint slides. This sounds like a fairly extensive business proposal with many players which in my mind requires funding unless the contributers are doing it gratis in exchange for shares. So as an investor I would be hesitant to put in funds without knowing more about how the key business developers were getting paid. As well knowledge about competition from other providers would be helpful and what it would cost to take this training from your company vs a more traditional company. Great job on the presentation and an idea worth further investigation as a potential investment opportunity.

Outstanding pitch.

2. Types of offerings: the online and situational learning on site make a powerful combination–love it.
3. Who is the buyer? What need is it filling? The academy will likely attract very wealthy families who want their children to have an IB type expansion and make it a safe educational travel experience
4. Global markets: would be global, but the marketing would be costly I think if you wish to include all potential markets
5. Development of Market: Sounds like the market dev plan is well thought out
6. Competition—works with others, substitutes for, competes with: it is a product that seems to be alone in its class but obviously will enrich regular education, much like an IB
THanks for a great concept, K

Very well done presentation.

However, before I do so, I would want to learn about the educational value behind this product.

I see a market for this already – new parents are always interested in new products that would help their babies learn and grow.

I can see this marketed globally – in all languages (and perhaps the baby can be multilingual at an early age as well)

However – my concern is that we are training babies to think technologically – and do we really want to mold their thinking this way? Does this limit their creativity and learning styles in the long run? Of course, it will be difficult to do studies and research as babies are too young to offer opinions.

I see Bab “E” Mobile as a very profitable venture – but as an educator as well, I am not willing to invest until I know more about the safety (radiation? lights flashing non-stop?) and the educational value (watching advertisements at such a young age? conditioning without choice to say “no”, limiting learning styles and creative thinking…)

If these concerns are addressed (have educators on board? some research in side-effects of the product) – then I think you have a great market and I would be willing to invest.

I am back as an EVA and would like to invest in your venture.

Your elevator pitch was catchy and very exciting.
Your longer pitch was great as well, although when you demonstrate the Odijoo in the video – it was hard to see what was actually happening. I did like the video and the slides working together – but sometimes I would be listening and watching, and by the time I looked over to the slides, it would be gone before I finish reading. It was a great pitch, overall.

First of all, I think you have a great market. Rather than limiting to students in Ontario, or Canada, I think you should open this up to all international students (in addition to American students, as stated in your pitch). As a teacher teaching in an offshore school – I am a BC certified teacher, but currently not under an school boards. So – yes, I think your choice of teachers for your school (online), chaperone, etc., will work well. As well, hiring qualified teachers who are not part yet part of the school boards would also open up many needed teaching positions. You could also offer positions to teachers who are qualified and teach globally.

In addition, working with international students, I understand that there is a huge market – and lots of money to be made. I really like the fact that you included the profit chart in your presentation – and I think if you asked for more money for the start-up investment – the profit might even increase!

I think your ideas of corresponding courses are great: Biology => Peru; Japanese => Japan; French => Quebec; Spanish => Spain…

These are great ideas. What you should also include are Social Studies (like field school), English (home of Shakespeare?), and other fun places to go. There are so many options!

However – one problem I see is that students will have trouble completing a course starting in April to June. How will these courses run? If a student has a heavy course load, and facing provincial exams (I’m thinking BC students), it may be hard to add on another course, even if it’s part time. There is a lot of merit offering a credited course for the summer – but it is difficult to have students be successful in additional courses – especially so close to the end of the school year.

Courses need to go through accreditation if credits are to be offered – even in private school settings. I would love to see some of my current students (here in China) take one of these classes and receive credit that would transfer to their BC transcript.

I think the online program is a great idea – especially when some schools cannot offer all the courses available in the curriculum. Sometimes, the interest is just not high enough to open such courses. Therefore, students taking an online course of their choice would solve this problem.

Finally, I would invest in LM Academy if courses are accreditated, if there is potential for international students (especially at Canadian schools) to enrol and receive credits, and if there is some way to support students in studying throughout the last stretch of the school year.

Market Focus: tow truck drivers in the CAA.
I also agree with the previous comment that if the target market is North America – with the same regulations, etc., it would be better. Cathy mentioned that the launch will begin in Ontario and tested as pilot? – which is fair.

Types of Offerings:
I’m not convinced about the simulation idea of this training – perhaps I need to see a visual or a demo of this in action. I am wondering what kind of console would be used for this game. I can see some entertainment value in producing this just as a game – as in other flight simulations where the player has to practice take-offs and landing. The tow truck game could also provide many scenarios inside the game. However, I’m wondering how realistic it will be. Other games have an actual steering wheel for players to hold onto while playing. I’m wondering if the simulation can be along the lines as this: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001030.html

Then, maybe I’ll be more willing to invest. You could add the weather conditions, road conditions, and safety issues you mentioned into the program and have it projected onto the screens.

I like the idea that the venture will be supported – and as an investor, I feel safer if the idea is backed up by reliable people at the ministry of transportation.

Global Market:
As making a serious game, especially with complicated graphics, it might be worthwhile to pitch the game globally as well? There was no mention of global market in this presentation.

Development of the Market:
As mentioned in the previous posts, if this simulation can be part of a mandatory training, then it would be a great investment.

Learning Technology:
As part of an additional part of the already in place training program, this simulation works well to extend knowledge of tow truck drivers. I really like the fact that Cathy included subject matter experts – who have over 15 years of experience; as well input from tow truck drivers. I agree with Cathy that safety is important – and if this simulation can greatly reduce risks – then that would be great.

Additional Comments:
The pitch was clear, easy to understand and very informative. A demonstration of how this would work can strengthen my willingness to invest. As well, a proposal of how this product can be marketed to places other than just Ontario is also preferable. If this can be done, then I’m in. I like this pitch and I think there is potential.

Congrats – I am jealous at this point. Am wondering if I could “pick your brain” about the broad outlines of ETEC 590? Wondering if there is an email address that I could contact you at instead of this blog? If you are amenable, I would very much appreciate any info you wouldn’t mind sharing.

Cheers,
Greg
glewis@sd69.bc.ca

PS A big “hi” from Tenney Homma!”

Cari

1. financials. As an EVA, I would need to justify a next meeting with the wallets around a sound return on investment, and the concept though fascinating was not clear to me re: how such a large market would be marketed and supported.
2. I gut reacted immediately, causing me to reflect about the effect on mind and physiology of such an appliance for babies who do not have the ability to opt out. Many studies show ADD and other disorders have skyrocketed recently and some blame tv and internet and too much influx of high density invasive media on developing minds so unless more studies are done, I would pass. I am not any kind of expert on child development and can only get a perspective from my 22 years as a Mom as I only do adult education.
It is interesting to note that both of my children who are quite independent minded elect to opt out of most of the modern busy technologies as they find all the noise, images, and barrage of irrelevant messages disruptive. I did not coach them to dislike these modern things as it is mom who has a new media business and an iphone, tie ins to my car stereo, satellite tv and radio, email from my 60 online students, and my ever present portable computer, and I installed wifi for our home businesses so I can work at home.
We dont know the effect of much radiative and impactive technology on developing psyches or physiology-well, ad nauseum.

I just might be the demographic you market to, and see my gut response.
FYI …one son refuses a cell phone at all, the other only does text on his cell, and neither like second life etc… their mantra is get a life for the geeks.

These are general observations and admittedly, my life experience may influence my perspective as an EVA since if youngsters who have free access to the world of digital decline much due to their own perceived loss of their peace of mind and need of time to ponder on their own in privacy, I would worry about the babies.
On this note, I will go do some family time! oops it is 1 am and they are in bed…

Thought you introduced your team well – solid credentials including those that will actually make it happen and put it on the internet.
As someone else has noted (and you did deal with this), since this service is predicated on access to the internet, not all parents will have equal access. Do you know what the penetration % is for internet users in Baja? Might be interesting to know.
By linking yourself to a “best practice” type body via the government I think you have given your company credibility for potential investors.

The business model doesn’t offer as much information as it could. Investors would want to know the rate of return in 6-12 months and what percentage of the company that would be. Also, is there a cost for posting these resources? If it is free, how is the company “making money”? Maybe it is through advertizing or government funding.
The last thing I wondered about was whether this company is a non-profit? I don’t think it is from what I saw but if teachers are donating/giving away their resources and the company is going to make money I don’t know whether most teachers would support this.

Overall, I think it is a solid idea that offers a service that many parents/teachers would take advantage of. The presentation itself was clear and effectively communicated your ideas. Enjoyed your presentation.

Cheers,
Greg

Your proposal is not the typical one where you are asking for money from investors per se. My take was that you were making a pitch to District 79 to modify their technology plan.
Just about everything you said regarding this, I agreed with since I had done a very large paper on a very similar topic in ETEC 532 which covered major barriers to change in terms of teachers using technology in constructivist type learning environments. That part was effectively communicated and well done.
A couple of things that I thought could have been discussed that would have made the pitch stronger were:
1. For in-service to occur or Pro-D for teachers, the District has to commit funding which is a money issue. Most teachers, myself included, are not going to show up on a Saturday morning or after school (especially if we already volunteer 150 hours plus per year as coaches) on our own time for the most part. Funded release time would definitely go a long way to getting people on board.
2. Minor but…if a copy of the tech plan was there I could/would have been able to cross reference it with the comments you made which might have made things a little easier.

I thought your point on infrastructure was bang on – putting something on a piece of paper/theory is one thing but having the physical capacity to do it is another and again, that is a money issue.

Given the sad state of affairs of most districts financially speaking, I don’t think that many would provide the funding necessary to make your ideas a reality on a large scale – which is really unfortunate for us in the MET program that teach in public schools.

Cheers,
Greg

Because I am limited to three investment opportunities only, I have to place yours in the next three.

Indeed, I am fascinated by your pitch, for healthcare is important to me, as it is for most, if not all. When it comes to healthcare (and education), I am always concerned.

As an investor/venture capitalist, however, I am also concerned about government interference and bureaucracy, for governments move relatively slowly when it comes to innovations and to advancements.

Yes, there are exceptions, but they are few and far between, which is concerning to patient or impatient investors, or investors with high or low risk tolerance. I am an impatient investor with low risk tolerance, which means that I want to make a quick buck with little risk, making investing challenging for me. But, I have been successful so far.

As such, I would be taking a big risk with this venture, even though I suspect that it will be successful, for there are many investors who would jump at this investment opportunity.

In sum, I enjoyed reviewing your presentation. Regarding the venture, it is only a matter of time before a ROI becomes evident.

Cheers,

Barrie

Thank- you – collectively, you were honest which I appreciate. It’s funny how one reads others’ comments and immediately you go, “Yeah, absolutely – why didn’t I see that at the time?”
I’m happy that the idea has merit and there is a market and need. I purposely marketed it for Canada due to my “expertise” and the fact that the Dieppe raid is a) a very “universal” event in any province at the Gr. 11/12 level for Social Studies and b) it is from WWII which has seen some amazing sales in terms of games/simulations.
A great idea on marketing it via SS conferences and presenting directly to Districts/School Boards – makes total sense.
The Flash platform is economical and decent; full on simulations are half a million minimum with all the bells and whistles. My thought was that the kids would want to play rather than “study” and that would be a major buy in for them.
Honestly – could I sell enough units to make Year 2 and 3 simulations? Hmmm…money is tight and that is quite a few licenses to sell, so…
Again, thanks for the feedback. Financial part was a major amount of time but I’m glad I did it based on your comments.
Cheers,
Greg

First, your venture presentation is interesting and comprehensive, which is always appreciated by investors/venture capitalists.

The fact that the Black Box is aimed at primarily private or public academic institutions is worrisome.

There are too many factors at play: political will from administrators, teachers, and community stakeholders, teacher interest/desirability, teacher training costs (e.g. pro-d), purchase/replacement costs, foreseeable/unforeseeable technical issues, access to Internet connectivity in the lab, digital divide/last KMs issues, perpetual budgetary issues, and bureaucracy.

Indeed, I am concerned about whether the number of schools would sign up on an ongoing (e.g. annual) basis to generate some kind of ROI.

Certainly, providing quality public education is essential and a right, but there are still stakeholders behind the scene who, for reasons of money and politics, would make this investment too risky for me. In sum, there are too many players at play here.

Overall, however, I enjoyed reviewing your site and contemplating the investment side of your venture.

Cheers,

Barrie

Your venture presentation is compelling and intriguing. Certainly, AI has arrived and is evolving quickly.

Indeed, ANSI sounds futuristic, intuitive and organic, which makes this venture very promising to venture capitalists who (a) understand this type of technological advancement, (b) appreciate the wait on their ROI, and (c) know the investment possibilities.

I am not knowledgeable about AI, except to say that I know it is already here and it is the future. But, to invest in something I know relatively nothing about, I am reluctant and apprehensive.

Nevertheless, it seems as though this venture is already a success story, so this venture would not need my investment dollars.

Lastly, I suspect that real investment capital is already around the corner, which can mean only one thing: ANSI is a winner!

Cheers,

Barrie

Non-profit usually means ‘No profit’. If I were a wealthy philanthropist, I would be interested in such an endeavour, for it is noble and right.

However, as an investor — a venture capitalist — I would be concerned about my ROI in dollars, not in heartstrings.

That said, I cannot help but admit that I was quite emotional during and after the venture presentation, for it did have an emotional impact on me as a person.

I suppose that one way to market this venture is to invite celebrities (e.g. singers, professional athletes, actors, etc) to pitch your venture to the world. Just like ‘Product Red’, Bono appearances on HIV/AIDS, anti-poverty TV campaigns hosted by celebrities, and many other humanitarian causes/ventures, Project Lakshmi could become a worldwide phenomenon. However, until then, I would have to sit on the sidelines.

Lastly, please know that there are many TEDTalks presenters who invite business leaders and entrepreneurs to invest in certain developing countries. As such, there is great potential in this market.

Cheers,

Barrie

I went through your elevator pitch and was quite intriguied so I studied the entire pitch im more detail. You’ve definitely identified a useful niche in the educational market. If you can actually hook students on a serious game like this the learning possibilities are quite extraordinary. Since teens already spend so much time in front of computers we might as well try and get them to do something useful at the same time.

The one thing that really impressed me about your presentation isn’t even so much the actual product (since I’m assuming its actually fictisious right?) but how in financially in depth you went. You definitely explained how your start up would function financially and presented a sound business plan.

The fact that you can draw on your years of experience as a social studies teacher definitely lends weight to the proposal and would be one of the main selling points for me. If you didn’t have that much direct experience with the end users (aka students and teachers) I would have much less confidence in your product and your pitch.

All in all, great job!

Even though the product sounds viable, before I’d invest I would want to see some concrete sales numbers. If it works as well as you’ve said, then that wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but I’d only put my money in after the fact. That being said, for 49% of the company I’d definitely agree to put in some money if there was already a guaranteed revenue stream.

I enjoyed examining your pitch.

In Google.ca and Bing, I typed in ‘online homework companies’; a list of online homework businesses came up.

In turn, competition, in one form or another, already exists. I suspect that your company would be listed somewhere on the first page, hopefully. After all, that front/first page is like the Yellow Pages listing.

As well, will qualified/certified/experienced teachers agree to work less than what they make at their day job? To find qualified/certified/inexperienced teachers who are TOCs, looking for continuing contracts, or fresh out of university exists, but will they be committed to your company for long periods?

Tutors working for learning centers like Sylvan make only $12-$15/hr. This is low for tutors, but high for some clients (i.e. the parents). As such, would your business pay less, as much, or more in wages? The profit margin may be too narrow even if you turn your business into a franchise.

However, because this venture is on line, the number of clients could be great, which is appealing to me. In turn, I will keep an eye on this venture to see how it measures up to other like-minded businesses.

Cheers,

Barrie

I love where your pitch is going and from the other comments, I see that you did an excellent job with the longer venture pitch. However, as an EVA, although I am impressed that you kept to the time limit in your elevator pitch (omg – I know how hard that is), the information you provided did not attract me enough to want to invest. Actually, I am unsure of what I will be investing in (after watching this pre-pitch 3 times) I love the slides (effective for emotional appeal) and the slogan “change a life and change the world” – but not enough to delve further.
As an EVA, I would have to say “no” to this investment.

As a colleague, I would like to say thank you for sharing your hard work with us!

I really liked his pitch – very entertaining (and a good brush up on my Japanese 12). I think this product would be useful in the classrooms as well – I’m thinking physics class experiments – demonstration.

If it’s affordable, I think students might get a kick out of using it rather than presenting through powerpoints where they have to stand in a certain place in order to control the laptop/computer (my students have top notch laptops but have not brought in wireless mice yet – go figure).

But, nevertheless, a fun pitch. =)

Great pitch! Great product! I am intrigued by the technology, for I am a mobile techno-zealot.

I would consider investing after I see how quickly such a venture takes off at a few post-secondary institutions.

In the mean time, however, I will keep a close eye on this venture from the side lines, for I am concerned about the bureaucracy, which inherently exists in all universities.

I will be watching this venture closely.

Cheers,

Barrie

Your pitch is informative and discussed a serious issue that definitely needs addressing. But unfortunately, the “game” factor in the title with a “serious healthcare” issue did not work for me. I will come back to look at the full pitch – but unfortunately, I will probably not choose this as one of my 3 investments.
Thanks for sharing your hard work in this project.

I also look forward to doing business with you.

Certainly, as the e-learning market continues to grow, e-ducativa is strategically positioned to expand wherever the need is.

Lastly, it is only a matter of time before e-learning becomes the dominant learning platform at all levels of schooling. Indeed, it is taking schooling on a whole new level.

Welcome aboard!

Barrie

As I am not familiar with science, I was less attracted to this pitch. After reading the above executive summary, I still had little information about what your product was. I was curious to follow your pbwiki presentation, more for the reasons of being confused.

When I arrived at the pbwiki, I was still confused as a non-science teacher. The front page was excellent – very clearly laid out and I went to the “start here” link immediately after.

Afterwards, I saw many equipment that I was not familiar with – but I went on to the next page anyway.

By the end of that page – I had watched 2 videos about Vernier – and was very impressed with the lab experiments. I also realized that I was looking into your venture pitch – and have stepped away from the elevator pitch.

I read your black box idea briefly – and from what I got out of it, I feel that it is a great idea. I think virtual labs, where students can work on experiments at home on their own is creative and innovative. As students are working from home in other subjects, why not science experiments?

However, I think if you gave a little more detail about this product in your executive summary – perhaps even a picture – it would have been more comprehensive for non-science teachers/administrators.

As an EVA, I would want to feel curious and excited about your elevator pitch, rather than curious and confused – when entering your longer venture pitch.

Unfortunately, first, because I am unfamiliar with the subject area, and second, the presentation did not leave me feeling confident on what I would be investing in, I would have to pass on this venture.

Hope this helps.

Adam

I really enjoyed your elevator pitch. And with your comments above, it seems that you really have this all thought out. I think this is a great venture, and something that I would be interested in participating in if it actually happens!

Agreeing with Cari’s comment above, you have a huge market in Asia where international students would be able to afford and have the interest and motivation to take courses in Canada. And of course, the slides and videos of Quebec makes it ever so much more attractive.

Overall, great pitch!

I would be willing to invest due to solidity of CAA’s solid reputation, if assured the market was indeed North America and not just Ontario, and be reassured that the ROI timeline was defined in advance.

I will go back and look at the end of my venture pitch- and look at the “technical’ part. That is really helpful feedback- which I really appreciate. Thanks for your support.

I think you have a great idea here. Your point about students who come here to study wanting to stay or continue in the same type of program is so true-
We’ve had 3 exchange students and 2 of 3 wanted to continue on. The third one has stayed. What I am a little confused about is what the course content actually is. You said you have accredited teachers and that as the students become more proficient English language speakers they could join in science or math etc. classes. Further on you say that your main target audience is university students- so are these university credit courses?- or just general interest courses? or high school courses?

I am wondering if you have allowed yourself enough time for content development. I don’t how long it takes just do develop the product- but it might be likely that you will need a year to really get things up and going- not sure.
Overall this was an interesting pitch that has targeted a real gap.

The Bab-E Mobile has a very successful pitch and on first glance I am very attracted to it. The voice and images are simple to understand and the concept of technology is portrayed as both exciting and of the future. However, upon deeper thought I wonder about the health risks involved. Would exposing babies to constant LCD screens be safe? If my child is going to spend most of their adult life in front of a screen out of necessity, would it be necessary to put them in front of a computer at such a young age? As a baby monitor, it seems to pose a great deal of potential with the many functions that are embedded into it. One may suggest that the time the baby spends with the monitor is complemented by time also spent with the parents and it is by no means a substitute for parent care. Yet, I am cautious to place my child in front of a LCD screen in such close proximity without adult supervision. Without the reassurance of safety, it doesn’t matter about the financial returns or the costs, it would be very hard to invest (as an EVA) into a product like this.

Overall, this has a lot of potential!

The idea is SUPER !!! But as an EVA, I won’t give my go ahead before I see the financial side of your plan. What would be the cost of development for the Bab-E Mobile device? What’s the target selling price. As you mentioned above $200 is not specific enough for any investor. Other comments about your venture are;

- Excellent presentation (despite I had to exert extra effort to distinguish your audio narration from the cool background music beat !!)

- I assume it would take two years minimum before the Bab-E Mobile would be utilized as a tablet PC (of course provided the monitor is designed to be safe for infants), the technology changes rapidly and parents may not feel it’s an attractive feature that worth the extra money they need to pay.

- Your device reminded me with the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and when I checked their site, I wondered if you can communicate with the same manufacturer and make a modification of the XO monitor (screen) to be Bab-E Mobile for the age of 0 to 3 years then once it’s mounted in the keyboard it becomes a full functional XO Laptop, what do you think? (you need to check the picture on this URL to understand what I mean http://laptop.org/en/laptop/index.shtml )

Finally, I’m very IN and we just need to work out the math.

Great Job and CONGRATULATIONS for finalizing the MET

Your points above re; training teachers is so very true. Through my research, teachers tell me that the most effective training they get is just-in-time and usually involves colleagues who are just around the corner.
Teachers need to have technical support that they can access immediately. It isn’t that they don’t think tech. is a good idea- they just don’t have time to spend fixing things- If it is too much of a bother- they’ll find another way to teach it.

The new clinic pays off with the hands on summer session (mentioned in the full pitch) but naturally the online aspects don’t really reflect the facility. The market size is the real issue. If all 6 of the current dental schools involved consider similar ventures the market would be too small for the intial purpose however, online courses could be used to help prep domestic students for the NDEB but they would not be prepared to pay high course fees so the funding model would be less attractive to investors. It’s a shame when reality gets in the way of good idea.

Jim

I would be interested in hearing a bit more about the financials. How much will it cost?
Can an individual get this program or is it available through schools. Has it been adapted for mobile phone technology?

Your presentation was well done and very easy to follow.
Good job.

What a great idea and great presentation. Although the elevator pitch was engaging and more like teaser TV add, I wished it would give bit more about the venture idea and some snap shots of your Zentation presentation so it encourage other EVAs to dig in and watch the excellent Zentation presentation which I really salute you for using it.

OK, although this is not a full review, but here is my main recommendation for you is to expand your venture to go globally and address the off-shore Ontario based Canadian schools as first phase and then include programs from other provinces at a later stage. Check out the no of off-shore Canadian schools world wide
http://www.iqe.com.hk/iqe/interschools.htm

but even if you decided to keep it locally for now, still I suggest you good for more than 25K as seed money to kick off the venture.

Good luck with your venture.
http://www.iqe.com.hk/iqe/interschools.htm

I am going to start off by saying that you made a very convincing pitch and one that was not easy to ignore. In the end, as I only had the ability to invest in 3 out of 10 new ventures, I had to pass on yours. It was a tough decision but here are a few reasons why I did not choose your venture based on your elevator pitch:

* I am not convinced of the viability and practicality of online tutoring. I know that many students take online courses but that is different from tutoring.
* I am also not convinced that you can appeal to the market that you claim to be servicing. As a former primary teacher, I find it a little unbelievable that you could offer online tutoring to primary aged children
* even if online tutoring were possible, I would want to be assured of other features in this service such as programs that would allow students and tutorers to interact visually. Currently, it appears as though interaction is mostly conducted through discussions.

It was a hard decision picking out a third venture to invest in. In the end, it was a toss up between yours and another. However, after reviewing both elevator pitches over and over, I am formally notifying you that Cheng Incorporated is interested in pursuing your proposal further. A detailed report of our findings will be emailed to you shortly.

What caught my eye in your elevator pitch were the following points:

* although your video was heavily laden with information and exceeded the time that is typical of an elevator pitch, I found your proposal to be sound and compelling
* your video was very credible and it was apparent that you had done much research to justify your claims
* the last part of your video was more technical and it almost lost me – I had to review it a second time to catch your proposal
* despite the fact that your venture is not designed to bring a sound return on my investment, you preface your pitch by stating that it would be designed for a development funder. I believe that humanitarian organizations would indeed find your proposal interesting and one they would be interested in funding.
* your video has a subtle calling for urgency and as such appeals to a large audience

Let me begin by saying that I would invest in this venture. After all, the product will sell itself. I think the ‘LeapFrog’ Group should be paying close attention to this business venture, for this product, and its inevitable cousins, will dominate the baby product market. I can smell the money already!

Yes, competition will be fierce. Yes, knock-offs will be a challenge. And, yes, price will be an issue. However, the bottom line is that working parents want products and services to be their surrogate while they work long and hard for money. Chasing the almighty dollar has its price; it has its costs. And, like LeapFrog products, for example, Bab-“E” Mobile helps ‘care’ for kids (‘Kare-4-Kids’ products; now, that has a nice ring to it!)

Anyway, your venture presentation is convincing and persuasive in that the baby toy market is lucrative, widespread, and expanding. The middle-class market in China and India, for example, is growing quickly (even in the current economic downturn, which is apparently recovering). Here, the parents will need techno-sitters for their infants and children.

To date, there are many products and services caring for children. There are daycares, day camps, summer camps, spring break community programs, nannies, Montessori/pre-schools, schools, etc as well as TVs, PCs, portable gaming units, video screens in vehicles, etc. So, having a product like the Bab “E” Mobile only sweetens the baby product market.

Overall, the presentation is compelling; the venture is intriguing; and, the product is promising. The investment is worth the risk!

I was only kidding – I am interested.

When presented with ten potentially great ventures and the ability to only choose three, yours stood out immediately. I am formally notifying you that Cheng Incorporated is interested in pursuing your proposal further. A detailed report of our findings will be emailed to you shortly.

What caught my eye in your elevator pitch were the following points:

* despite the fact that your video went over the typical time span of 30 seconds for an elevator pitch, your proposal was so fascinating that I never lost interest
* the background music made the pitch playful and enjoyable to watch
* you combine many great elements of modern technology with a hot market niche – new parents are the second largest target market next to teenagers
* furthermore, your product addresses the ideal target market – today’s parents are typically older than parents of previous generations; they have more money and are willing to spend more on their children particularly when it comes to safety
* you have chosen a very catchy and marketable product name

P.S. It did not come as a surprise that you were either a new parent or about to become one. Congratulations.

Your financial information was helpful. I appreciate your comments about not being able to find the information you need-

Great job Greg. I would really like to learn more about game creation and how to get kids to build their own games.

Even if I’m not interested in investing in your company, can you let me know how to get one of these?

When presented with ten potentially great ventures and the ability to only choose three, yours stood out immediately. I am formally notifying you that Cheng Incorporated is interested in pursuing your proposal further. A detailed report of our findings will be emailed to you shortly.

What caught my eye in your elevator pitch were the following points:

* simple yet effective description of what you were selling – your pitch could easily pass as an advertisement in a magazine or a newspaper
* many viable selling features to a variety of users – I particularly enjoyed how you “sold” this product to the home, business and education field
* you included many hooks such as being environmentally friendly and low cost
* although the idea is a technological endeavour, one does not need to possess an overly detailed knowledge of how computer networks operate to be able to understand your proposal

Thank you for taking the time to pitch you business venture. From my understanding of the assignment, I am now to decide solely from your elevator pitch, whether this is a venture that I would like to delve further into. As I only have three out of ten proposals to select from, it is unfortunate that I will have to pass on this venture for the following reasons:

* as many others have already pointed out, your pitch made excellent use of the alloted time that was given; by the end of the pitch, I was “sold” on the plight of current affairs in India but I had no idea what it was that you were proposing (i.e. what product were you selling?)
* had I have been representing the UN or some other NGO seeking to partner up with a humanitarian cause, I would have been sold. However, as a business venture, I would be hard pressed to invest money into something that did not promise a solid return on my investment

Thank you for taking the time to pitch you business venture. From my understanding of the assignment, I am now to decide solely from your elevator pitch, whether this is a venture that I would like to delve further into. As I only have three out of ten proposals to select from, it is unfortunate that I will have to pass on this venture for the following reasons:

* although I am not a tow truck driver, I was able to both understand and appreciate the need for your venture. However, as others have stated, I was not convinced that this market was large enough to make this product profitable
* your write-up is comprehensive; however, I felt that use of visuals might have made it more interesting and appealing

Thank you for taking the time to pitch you business venture. From my understanding of the assignment, I am now to decide solely from your elevator pitch, whether this is a venture that I would like to delve further into. As I only have three out of ten proposals to select from, it is unfortunate that I will have to pass on this venture for the following reasons:

* although this may seem a trite trivial, a catchy name can carry a lot of weight. I’m not sure if the actual name for your product/venture is “Serious Games for Serious Healthcare” but it is one which I feel lacks marketability
* while I made allowances for the longer than usual video play due to the reasons that you cited, it was truly a little long to listen had it been an elevator pitch. The music was very traumatic and added a great deal to the video but then it kept going and I was left watching a blank screen for an additional minute and a quarter
* the images were excellent and portrayed an accurate picture of what the product was intended for

Thank you for taking the time to pitch me your business venture. I had no idea about offshore schools until now and that there was so much competition within that industry. From my understanding of the assignment, I am now to decide solely from your elevator pitch, whether this is a venture that I would like to delve further into. As I only have three out of ten proposals to select from, it is unfortunate that I will have to pass on this venture for the following reasons:

* despite excellent attempts to provide background knowledge as to what offshore schools are, I am still unclear after reading the pitch as to how this plays into the education market
* your writeup is very descriptive; however, I’m wondering if visuals might have benefited in piquing the interest of the potential investor

Thank you for taking the time to pitch us your venture. I hope that I am safely making a correct assumption that your write-up at the top is your elevator pitch and that the wiki is your longer formal venture pitch. From my understanding of the assignment, I am now to decide solely from the shorter elevator pitch, whether this is a venture that I would like to delve further into. As I only have three out of ten proposals to select from, it is unfortunate that I will have to pass on this venture for the following reasons:

* the writeup tells me a lot about the history of science equipment (in particular the Vernier line). Unfortunately, I learned very little about what you were proposing other than the fact that it improved upon defects in their models
* as one who does not teach science (other than to primary children), I am not made aware of the target audience
* your written summary does well in describing a real problem that exists. A visual presentation would have probably sold me more in presenting the possibilities of what you are “selling”

This is a very dynamic presentation in which the viewer is treated to a diverse number of images and ideas. From my understanding of the assignment, I am now to decide solely from the 30 second pitch, whether this is a venture that I would like to delve further into. As I only have three out of ten proposals to select from, it is unfortunate that I will have to pass on this venture for the following reasons:

* while the images and captions portrayed a sense of adventure and possibilities, it didn’t really portray what I could get out of this (i.e. a degree, etc)
* the validity of the institution was not immediately clear (was it an accredited institution or one that was affiliated with a major university)
* overall there was certainly a lot of flair and it would certainly be attractive to a lot of university students seeking adventure. I would have liked to have been assured of the educational value as well

My cousin-in-law Brenda Laurie-Shaw was the previous director of Nursing Infomatics at several hospitals in Toronto- I wonder if she had anything to do with this program.

Good job Cindy.

Your presentation format is interesting and effective. I think your section reviewing potential weaknesses is very insightful. The product is well thought out and indeed there are challenges in finding effective tutoring services over the net. I would suggest that if your were able to develop a product that provided tutoring support based on an individual’s personal learning style you may be able to offer a service that is not as prone to copycats. By teaching tutors you have effectively identified an emerging or new market for your venture. Another aspect, which may be helpful for the success of yourventure is the small scale model. The market potential is identified effectively in your brief as very lucrative but when large companies are involved their associated costs tend to go up as well. Therefore, as I believe you are trying to present in the business model you are employing (individual training so they can initiate their own client base) has an inherent value in that as soon as a business hires more employees they need to find the customers to support their employee base. Perhaps your model also suggests that tutors can be as busy as they want to be either full time or part time.

One area I am not sure about is how the asynchronous vs synchronous contact with clients will be addressed but that is a more detailed concern. For example, would times be set up for access with a customer in a forum or would there be a data base of resources to access for support. You do say that service will be on a 1- 1 basis and that tutors will be trained to use various tools that I presume suit them. A few more details on the actual product would be helpful – how the training will occur and what it will entail.

Overall I think the venture is a good idea. It is well presented and has some good potential for development. In terms of getting a return on my investment I would be hesitant to invest at this point based on the uncertain potential for profits.

Despite the challenge I faced in understanding what ANSI is after reviewing the slideshare multiple times, I’m now convinced that you have a valuable “patent” that you’re right to be very secretive about it and can’t reveal much info. I think you would need to draft an NDA (None Disclosure Agreement) that potential investors must sign before you give them more details about ANSI.

I also see ANSI in the future replacing what’s referred to as EPSS (Electronic Performance Support Systems) , mainly this technology is used by customer service agents to attend their inquires rapidly and without any delay.

Good luck with your venture

Hi Barrie,
Allow me to borrow the creative style you picked for your elevator pitch and list my formal EVA feedback for your pitch.

Me (Investor): OK Barrie, you were write that was a really interesting “bait and invest” as you said.

You (Barrie): Thanks, I’m glad it grabbed your interest.

Me: Yes it did, but as you would expect, I have few comments, questions and inquiries.

You: Of course, just shoot.

Me: Unlike most of other ventures I’m reviewing today, you’re bringing to the investment table a very well set up company in South America with remarkable success record (quoting you; 20 pages of clientele !!)
You: You’re absolutely right. So it’s kind of reducing the risk of new start up I believe.

Me: OK good, so why you need investment money?

You: Hmm, as the PPT says, we wish to expand our presence by entering new markets in China, Canada, US and India …that’s to name a few !!

Me: Great, this is what I wanted to confirm with you as I didn’t see it explicitly mentioning the amount of money you’re looking for or the specific purpose. I assumed – as other ventures would do – they look for funding to expand their product portfolio by investing in heavy R&D.

You: That’s of course a second priority for e-ducativa is to upgrade it’s technology to enable it to compete in the new markets.

Me: OK, I’m glad you mentioned the word “Compete” !! , does your more detailed investment portfolio package includes a technical review and competitive analysis for e-ducativa products (LMS, Video Conf.) against industry leaders such as BB, Moodle, Wimba, Elluminate …etc).

You: I guess yes, that could be arranged through the company technical team. I know we’ve been into many projects facing international competition and we won some good deals.

Me: Great, I need that and I need to be secured about how “global” your products are, in short, your support to multiple languages.

You: We follow Unicode in all our development and supporting new language is not an issue. Let me assure you that English language is already supported beside the default Spanish.

Me: Great, now we need to get into serious action, the markets you mentioned are very diversified and each need a separate marketing plan, therefore and as an ETEC 522 EVA, I would recommend to buy $250K shares directed to two main business objectives; 1) Establish presence for e-ducativa in the US market and 2) Utilize e-ducativa e-learning services in content development and attract off-shore outsourcing business from the North American market and UK.

You: Excellent, we have a deal, I’ll call for a board meeting to get their approval and move forward.

Me: Pleasure to do business with you Barrie

Let me begin by saying that I would invest in this venture. After all, I am a fan of elearning; hence, the MET program.

Your presentation offers a viable business venture in that more learning is occurring on line than ever before. For example, many universities like, but not limited to, UBC, SFU, University of Calgary, University of Phoenix, and CityU are offering more and more degree courses on line, not to mention the many academic and educational institutions in Australia.

However, your business venture brings elearning to the secondary school market, which complements the already existing home schooling programs and the online courses in many school districts in the public sector. Of course, the difference is that your proposal is for the private sector, which can be lucrative, if the courses are dynamic, robust, and enriching as well as efficient, credible, and cost effective.

As well, for Assignment 1 for ETEC 522, I did a thorough review of Odijoo, which, to me, is a great LMS platform for creating and designing online courses. And, Odijoo does not have to be connected to a Web site.

In addition, one of our course mates presents a venture on mobile Web connectivity while commuting, which would only add to the efficiency, effectiveness, and viability of your business venture. This is truly ‘learning on the go!’

Although I would risk investment in your business, I would want ongoing input from users/students so that your business would remain ahead of the competition, for once this type of elearning market takes off, business will be fierce and highly competitive. Strategic marketing and advertising campaigns would have to be aggressive and pervasive.

Overall, your presentation offers 21st century technology that we need in the academic/educational world. I believe that secondary school students would enjoy, embrace, and appreciate the autonomy, the convenience, and the flexibility that we are, for example, currently experiencing in the MET graduate program. Indeed, this all ties in with Web 2.0 and digital learning.

Your elevator pitch’s simplicity set me up to be impressed by your very detailed venture. All the parts are there from market focus, target buyers, global markets, status of the markets at least in north america, team, competition, and risk mitigation. What stood out to me was that the quality of detail of market size and definition, team expertise, an risk mitigation sound very commensurate with the investment requested. I was particularly impressed with the details of investment options. Now I know that it is a real company so you might have had some of that information on hand, but I also know that it is sometimes work to gather that information and package it as you have – especially costs, profits and investment options. Considering this project is for real, I think you did your homework well.

Hi Noah,

Thank you for the great pitch (elevator, PPT and the Newsletter). Great Job.
My remarks;
- Big plus that the business model is based on consultation service, this will make the starting seed money quite reasonable.

- I liked the idea that you’re endorsing different e-tutoring platforms/tool, this will make you platform independent and select the best tool/technology that would suite your e-tutors (i.e those with verbal skills will prefer Skype, those with written/visual will prefer Odijoo and so on).

- I think potential investor will like the fact that the business owner is himself a teacher (business competency)

- My worry regarding the economy of scale as your business model is starting with f2f consultancy with real life tutors and it appears to me it’s more of a one-man-show company, I think you better invite fellow teachers/ MET students as prospect business partners.

- To tackle the economy of scale issue, I also suggest you think of investing time/money in the start to design a training certification track, something like the “e-Tutor Certification” (OK, I don’t want you to compete with UBC MET : ) !! it’s a rapid experimental course that gives the basics given in e-learning format, allowing you to generate another revenue beside the f2f consultancy and help as a marketing tool for your company.

Good luck

I enjoyed your elevator pitch. I liked the way you illustrated your ideas with the diagrams, the apples and the photos. Your full version appeart to be thorough. According to the Cube you have defined the market focus more specifically to two grades and all the stakeholders in the students’ education. The actual buyer sounds like the union or interested schools. If it were to go global you showed how it has an advantage of functions over two other products. The market as you described it is ready, and you did note the risk that a small percentage might not have equal internet access to it. It would fit in well with the teaching learning improvement activities. My impression is that even if it does not return on the investment within your estimated period, I think the longer term benefits are huge, the connections and sharing of knowledge and parent involvement would be a catalyst for change. I’d invest.

Thank-you for taking the time to review and to comment on my elevator pitch and venture presentation; I sincerely appreciate.

As well, I am grateful for having taken ETEC 522 because it informed me about venture capitalism pertaining to educational technologies within the world of education.

Indeed, as a business person and a public school teacher, I have learned a lot from you and this course, which I will carry forward.

That said, my rationale for using PowerPoint as my medium for both Assignment 1 and 3 is based on what several school districts suggested, should I choose to present a product or a service to a school or to a district. After all, PPT is easy to follow, to understand, and to relate to, especially for senior management who are seasoned administrators (some of whom, by the way, have yet to welcome or be intrigued by sophisticated communicative platforms).

Overall, I have every intention of presenting both PPT presentations to administrators, which I hope will bear fruit one day.

In closing, thank-you for taking the time and the effort to review my work.

Cheers,

Barrie

Development costs range greatly and would depend upon several things.

In my work at a college, I worked with two instructors who developed a study skills courselette for students – this would be the scope of the project I would suggest as I don’t know if we would need the volume of material for a full credit course.

This course was developed using $7000 of funding from BC Campus and a term release time for 1.5 faculty members (this is fairly standard practices at universities and college – faculty are afforded a couple months a year to develop a project or conduct research).

So one cost factor in developing such a course would be the interest of faculty in developing this idea – the more bodies using their already paid for development time – the lower the upfront cost.

That project had a lower level of interactive media than I would recommend for a course that doubled as a marketing tool – so media development could play an increased cost factor depending on the expertise of the people. While I used UBC as a model – this pitch could be presented to any institution. Some institutions have strong support personnel whose job it is to support faculty in the development of online course material (as my role was at the college level) – some have less support which would require hiring outside media producers, graphic artists, web designers, etc…

Finally, the cost of staffing and teaching the course would vary depending on enrollment. While this is an easy justification in a pay-based course, it is a harder pill to swallow when offering the course for free however, you can quickly see the benefits come registration time the next year.

So, if you are looking for a hard number, I’m afraid I can’t give you one without being on the inside of an institution and seeing the support that already exists. There is a great paper here http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writing/dlmay.htm
that discusses the general cost of developing an online course; my vision would be a half course that is media-rich so I would ballpark around the 750 hours of faculty time range.

I really enjoyed your entrepreneurial spirit and creativity in your pitch. Your trilogy of different media captures the benefits of each. The video clip is fast paced, up beat and to the point. Your pitchman skill rivals the slapchop/shamwow guys (and that is actually a good thing). The slideware is professional, clean and well laid out. The spoof e-vesting review article could have used some spell check but the medium was the message. We have seen the value of the use of interview as a means to deliver a credible message. You have clearly analyzed the market and your competitors on many levels. Your niche is well suited to the leaner more nimble operation you envision. Your closing remarks and heartbreak Helen’s Dragon’s Den style analysis was a great way to deliver your reflection beyond the entrepreneurial hype.

Most parents looking for tutors want some face to face time and so the local market is large and does not lend itself to offshore tutors. Giving the local neighbourhood f2f tutor the skills to expand online is attractive. Many tutors are retired teachers and would likely not have existing web expertise so the consulting/training fees you could generate may be substantial. A house visit from a computer service tech can easily run $60/hr. A tutor typically charges $30/hr.

Would I invest? probably not as I am not convinced that high enough returns would be forthcoming as a silent partner. This business model does not need a large capital injection and lends itself to mom and pop funding and initial internal marketing. You would need to have a noncompetition clause worked out and offer clients the opportunity to partner and expand your network. Would I recommend Two.0 Tutors to teachers and students? Absolutely. When do you open shop?

Jim

Thank-you for your feedback; I appreciate it.

Indeed, you have brought forward good suggestions, which I have noted in my original document.

Lastly, thank-you for taking the time to view and to comment on my pitch.

Cheers,

Barrie

Before I would invest in further financial support, I would like to discuss the courses that are able to be offered through DL. It needs to be able to work with our strong ESL needs while not being too difficult to maneuver on their own. Most of our teachers use a lot of body language, visual cues, immersion and kinesthetic strategies to get them to learn because the key of a Canadian education is it’s ability to be more lively and interactive than the traditional Chinese education. How would your courses be able to accommodate that? Most of our students enroll in Winter and Summer programs in Canada to earn the electives that you mention. It gives them a chance to interact with the culture as well as having an authentic environment to gain their language skills in. How would DL compete with such an initiative? Throughout the financial layout, you mentioned the profits DL could gain from participating in this venture. What about for the offshore school itself? Offshore schools are independent schools and they do make profits. How would you catch the eye of such an investor? The funding is great for DL but what about for the school itself?

I am interested to find out more about your venture and I think it has potential. There is a need for students to gain additional courses than the ones being offered in the school. How can DL support such learners who are so unique? They have strong ESL needs and needs constant care and attention. Furthermore, how would you able to authenticate the identity of the students who are taking the courses through DL? How would DL know the real id of the end user? Many of our classes rely on in-class work for assessment because once it is out of the room, the ability of technologies to translate and generate work is amazing. How would DL support that?

I hope this helps.

Market focus – this market seems enticing but potentially tough to break into. I like your examples of potential users for Gleanr – they speak to potential customers through the profiles on pg.4 you identify scenarios that are enviable for many individuals that aspire to be like the users described.

The type of offering is somewhat abstract but the way Gleanr is described it is definitely a desirable service. The identification of an individual’s value on the net to advertisers creates a solid indication of the internet’s potential as a tool to launch personal presence, which can be leveraged for the creation of wealth.

I can really see this product starting with a basic user status that can grow into a more extensive product warranting user fees. What I am not sure about is if the customer will attribute the flow of gleaned information to the product presented. For example, as advertising begins to become more streamed to provide appropriate products for the user –will they recognize it is happening? In other words what can your venture do to identify how the service is working for the customer.

Global Markets

It is difficult to assess how the Gleanr product is suited for use in areas other than Wired Anglophone countries. Have you been able to identify what type of basic requirement a high end Gleanr would require in terms of bandwidth and hardware?

An evaluation of potential customers’ awareness for concepts such as virtual presence would be an important consideration before expansion out of the North American market and into a more global venture. In short the professional scenarios could be adapted in a culturally sensitive manner.

Overall I was impressed by the team you have assembled but being a conservative investor I would opt for the 100,00o minimum investment.

One question- what are the actual costs to UBC?

Great presentation.
Bev

Great job pitching the absurd. Well done!

I think the highlight for me was how integrated and complete the system was that you described. If there is one thing teachers, and anyone really, appreciate it is when things just “work” and you presentation lead me to believe that your fictional product would work for me as an educator.

~Michel

As a potential investor what caught my attention the most was where you were coming from as a teacher and your first hand experiences backed by secondary sources in your presentation. You were clear that from your experience there is a market for these serious games and that research backs their use as an educational tool.

One point that would concern me would be the concept of “buy-in” I did some research for a city looking to use simulations for their firefighters. It is very surprising how some trainees and students critique something like a simulation. Although all learners appreciate the depth, realism and engaging aspects of simulations all of this can essentially shut down if the learner gets stuck on any inconsistencies. The common example in my fire rescue research were trainees getting caught up on the wrong coloured uniforms, incorrect insignias or the way fire behaves in simulations. I would guess that although these young men and women who have grown up in a gaming generation they may not “buy-in” to an educational simulation if it can’t live up to the simulations they are use to seeing on game consoles. With that said, a well designed simple simulation can be just as effective as the most complex with highest resolution, fastest action, etc.

Your inclusion of a budget is a huge plus as well as it gets down to the heart of what any investor would be looking for. Your pitch is very much that and as I read it I appreciated the options you were giving me as a potential investor.

Great work Greg, glad to review your well thought-out project.

~Michel

I really enjoyed your pitch and the basic concept of your business seems quite sound. What is very interesting is your blend of authentic experience and online education experiences–very clever.

Lorne

Great pitch! This is so relevant to my work. We should have teamed up and developed a project that could work for both of our provinces. I definitely understand the need for e-records training and support. Your facts are excellent and really capture the need for your project. As well, the proposed savings is very attractive. Great presentations. It is very easy to follow and professional.

Here is my review:

•CEO Credibility and Management Team – Specifics regarding the team, such as CEO or Management, are not discussed. However, this project comes from the University Health Network, a reputable supplier of e-record training materials. I know Cindy’s experience is extensive.

•Business Model – You have conducted very thorough research and provided an excellent proposal for how to overcome a major challenge in the adoption of e-records. This service would not only benefit those using the e-records as a part of work, but it would have incredible pay-offs for tax payers (reduced costs in health care and increased accountability and safety in care).

•Competitive Products – Local schools and institutes often offer basic computer training. How would this service be offered to sites? Who would pick up the bill for the service? Who decides the service and requirements for students?

•Market Readiness – Canada is definitely working towards e-records. Canada Health Infoway was created to encourage these efforts. The new federal initiative is to have all of Canada converted to e-records by 2015. Physician and manager buy-in remains a challenge. We also have this issue in Alberta. Physicians seem to have “modified” requirements for training in e-records. However, it is really essential that everyone be required to complete training and prove competency.

•Technical Innovation – There really isn’t any technology suggested here and computer support and training is not a new concept. Which type of e-learning techniques do you propose?

•Exit Strategy – The obvious success include increased computer competency, physician buy-in, and greater adoption of e-records throughout the region. I am not clear on an exit strategy for this service, or a timeline of evaluation.

•Overall Investment Status – This is definitely an easy project to support. Although, I believe that computer competency can be achieved from developed continuing education courses, I also think that there are a number of factors supporting in-house training. Many of the computer applications and processes require very specific knowledge and clinical understanding. I also believe that this type of service is transferable and a similar model can be applied in other regions and provinces. The benefits are obvious for health and economics.

Thanks,
Amy

It is very clear from your presentation that you have expert knowledge of the healthcare industry, and your pitch has captured my attention. You have provided the prospective investor with a great deal of important information–very persuasive. Thank you.

Thanks for your response, it defintely provides more insight into the product. As this product also covers off spoken/verbal skills than it really helps to round the product off .

I know what you mean about not being about to being able to cover off everything. With just 12 mintues, it definitely is a trade off in what is possible to touch upon…you have to make critical decisions on what to keep and what to eliminate.

Thanks,
Cathy

Thanks for your kind words and supporting my view that this is a needed venture!

Cathy

Thanks for your comment Marjorie. Towing is a very high risk job and when I’ve job shadowed tow truck drivers and sit in on their field training I find myself often cringing at how often they put themselves in situations that have the potential for great danger. See my reply to Eveline about how I envision the simulation would look like.

Cathy

I envision the simulation would mimic real life as much as possible, where it would have as having all the parts of a tow truck (eg: you’d open the door, walk to the back of the tow truck, raise the boom, take the cables out of the cab etc…) and would have realistic scenes such as car in a ditch or with a blown out tire etc. I’m sure this would add to the complexity of the simulation development and graphics, but why not aim high!

Cathy

In terms of whether simulations would be embraced, I think the tow drivers would embrace it. (Someone’s else pitch mentions statistics on men vs women and gaming, which favoured men). However, it would need to be very authentic and not seen as a game. It would have to be marketed as a serious simulation and focus on the safety aspect.

Cathy

Thanks for your feedback; you both make some good points about things I should have considered. The software is complete, although it is in constant re-development based on experience and user feedback.

I mentioned the Chinese market because, at the moment, that is where the software is being used. There are specific Chinese-English mistakes, mistakes that other non-native Speakers of English may not make (French-English for example).

The applications do have features that help students with spoken English. In fact, I was not be able to cover everything that the applications are designed to do. I focused on the writing and grammar features because there seems to be few applications that can do this. I also focused on this area because the applications are being used in English-medium schools in Hong Kong, Chinese speakers learning and working in English. My fault in not making that clear. English is still prevalent in Hong Kong, and many Mainland students are coming here for university, expecting to improve their English.

I appreciate your feedback and pointing out areas that could have made my pitch stronger. It is always hard to balance what to leave in and what to take out when you have a time constraint of 12 minutes, and although I didn’t use the full allotted time I felt keeping it short of that was prudent in order not to totally overwhelm or lose the audience’s attention. However, I see how your comments would add to a stronger pitch and perhaps the whole idea is to take all the time you can get with from the EVA and not leave any of it on the table. I particularly like your idea of asking the MTO to make it mandatory in order to guarantee revenue. Please see my reply above to Ian in regards to the inclusion of statistics.

Cathy

For those of you that are interested I just saw this great pitch of a similar technology which uses projection, images and tracking to provide some very interesting augmented reality.

Magic Projection:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7woG0pqFjs

Thanks for the compliments and review!

~Michel

Thanks for your comprehensive review of my pitch. We are currently using some online modules for CAA tow truck drivers, however I cannot comment on whether other towing firms would. I suspect those that each of the owners of these tow firms would have a central office with computer access that the drivers could use. I’ve commented above in my response to Sharon about expanding out to Canada once Ontario was well under way, this would likely require changes due to legislation in the provinces and to expand to the US or international as you suggest would be nice, but likely require much research in advance.

Cathy

Thanks so much for your glowing feedback. I must admit I’m surprised you counted the words in my elevator pitch, but secretly glad because I struggled and edited to get it down to within the word count and am glad my efforts did not go unnoticed! I appreciate your grading of 85%+; hopefully David will also be as generous

Cathy

Thanks for kind feedback; I’m happy to hear you liked my pitch. In terms of a stronger hook to bring them in, I thought the elevator pitch would be viewed first and then if the EVA was interested he/she would view the full pitch immediately following…however, perhaps this isn’t how it works in the real world of Venture Pitches, so I should have hooked them in again sooner in my full pitch….good idea!

Cathy

Thanks for sharing your tow experience. See my response above to Sharon regarding expanding beyond Ontario in the future. Love the idea of a Wii game, sounds like fun…want to partner in a joint venture pitch with me to Nintendo????

Cathy

I hear what you are saying…tow truck drivers aren’t very well liked. They have a reputation as “vultures” or “chasers”. Definitely a challenge the industry faces in terms of public perception. The idea would be the pitch to Ontario first, gain a good market share and revenue and then go Canada wide and definitely partner with BCAA as you mention.

Cathy

In regards to your question, I do not have a number of how many tow truck drivers there are that would pay for this software. However, just to give you an idea, in the Greater Toronto, CAA has 700 drivers and we do have plenty of competition from other towing firms. If we added in all CAA drivers Ontario wide and provincial wide competitors, I think the number would significantly increase. Now, whether the tow truck firms would pay…I suspect they would as damages from improper tows are quite costly…a damaged oil pan, broken window or scrapped bumper would quickly overshadow the cost of the program. As I mentioned at the end of my presentation in my self analysis, I did not have these full statistics on the number of drivers or damages, thus felt it was better to leave it out rather than include partial data.

Thanks for your feedback,
Cathy

If I were to redo this presentation, I would have given some visuals while explaining what LTSP is, and that would have hopefully answered some of the questions. Really, as long as it works, who cares what’s under the hood. This brings me to being green. I agree, it’s got to work, then it’s cool that it’s environmentally friendly.

I liked your pitch. It was easy to listen to, the narrative was good quality and the images added to the impact. Your closing line of “Best of all Moodle is easy to use and free” left me wondering what is the catch? The word “free” seems too good to be true, making me wonder as an EVA what the hidden costs are.

Cathy

You’ve presented an interesting pitch and piqued my interest in hearing more in your full pitch. You clearly explain what the three components, my words, check my words, and mark my words consist of. It seems that 2 of the components focus on written English as they are toolbars installed on MS Word. As an EVA, I wonder whether ESL learners are more interested in conversational English or written English skills. (I would suspect that it would be the first, but this is just my gut instinct). I would be interested in knowing what Chinese learners feel is more important. You note that there is a large ESL market in China, but do not state why this is. As an EVA I’d be interested in knowing why the market is so large and if it will continue to be. I know that China has a very large population; however as Hong Kong is no longer under British rule, is English still prevalent in Hong Kong and throughout China? I also think if it targets Chinese specific ESL skills than the market can expand to other countries with large Chinese speaking populations (eg: North America such as Toronto, Vancouver and San Francisco). This is an interesting product, but I’m not sure I’m ready to invest yet without seeing the tool close up first hand.

Cathy

I liked the part of your pitch that stated “one account, one system, one solution”. The focus and repetition of the word “one” was strong. I did wonder why the CMS is called Live Teacher? What is the live component? I guess I’ll need to watch the full pitch for that!

Cathy

I too had some difficulty loading your pitch, but was successful after a few attempts. Your pitch and focus was very different from some of the others I’ve seen so far. It was interesting to learn that Africa is the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world. I also appreciate your comments above answering the questions of others in the class, this helped me further understand your elevator pitch without viewing the full pitch.

Cathy

As an armchair observer, I am quite interested in HCI, haptic systems and expert systems. The concepts are very intriguing and offer a myriad of applications as you related in your pitch. I respect your confidentiality with respect to your existing pilot projects but I wanted more details. I tried searching for more info on your inventor, Don Newman, in Web of Science, Bing, and Google Scholar in association with computer/AI/IBM/expert systems/decision support systems and came up empty with the exception of mathematics text (Donald J Newman). I also searched IBM Canada as well with no luck. I would have thought that someone who saved the company millions would be noted somewhere but I suppose his retired status dropped him from the history. (and/or millions of $ is chump change to Big Blue) The business plan timeline may be lengthy and given the explosive pace of change may be offputting to investors (anticipating ~20% annual rate of return) waiting to capitalize on their investments . The pitch slides did not advance with the audio on my viewings (maybe I didn’t run it right). Consequently when I viewed the slideware afterwards there was a bit of a disconnect for me. I am not sure what the CRED/black box reference was about-perhaps the avionics black box? Maybe it is because my wife is a BFA photo major but the photo of Don Newman was not well selected as there is a background object sticking out of the top of his head. (yes, I am nitpicking now)

All in all, it is a very interesting concept with massive potential that is just a bit too short on specifics to make me invest. I never buy lottery tickets or play poker either though.

Good luck on your venture.

Jim

Your pitch seems to address an area of need. I found the slides easy to follow and laid out well. Your questions at the beginning of the elevator pitch quickly draw your attention and interest. The idea of e-Health records sounds like something that is definitely somewhere in our near future, so I am sure there is a market for CUSP out there.

Cathy

Wow…loved your elevator pitch. It was clear, clean and crisp…very nicely laid out. The music was up beat and added a fun aspect to the pitch. It drew me right in and made me want to watch the full pitch.

In your full pitch, your point on “python is big and here to stay” has impact and the examples of companies that use Python establishes it as solid. The idea of Pybotwar is fun and unique. The low cost of $30 Pybotwar and breakeven is 17 schools seems very reasonable and likely accomplishable. Your idea of the competition is a good way to spark further interest in the product and get your product out there. I think I’d invest.

Cathy

Your line in your elevator pitch on “where history comes to life” is a good hook. The audio was catchy in your elevator pitch, but I found I missed not having audio in your full pitch. I would have preferred to hear your voice narrative rather than have to read the slides.

I think your intended audience is limited as the simulation looks at Dieppe Raid in WWII so would only be marketable in Canada. I also whether this is core topic in social studies provincial wide and nation wide, as this would impact the market. Although the cost to purchase to the teacher or school is low, I wonder in this time of budgetary constraints if the teacher/school would be willing to spend this money when textbooks already exist for use on teaching about the Dieppe Raid? Also, the success of this simulation would also necessitate that schools have access to computers for social studies classes, again something I am not sure of.

I found your elevator pitch intriguing, which made me watch you full pitch…however upon viewing it I am not sure that as an investor I am convinced this would be viable long term.

Cathy

The elevator pitch covered the major points, and I was intrigued to take a closer look. I think that the by putting the pitch video on a website, you were able to convey much more information than you could using either only text or video. Nice job.

Looking at the elevator, I found that you were able to cover a lot of content and stick to the 30 second allotment. I’ve had very little to do with anything ESL/foreign languages, so I’ve got nothing to compare this product to. I think that the MS Office plugins will make this product more attractive. Could you have included plugins for “all major office suites?” Either way, I’m impressed.

Your pitch was very well organized and flowed nicely. I found your comment regarding “the opportunity to gain early interest and commitment” a good hook. You’ve obviously done your research on this. You were able to speak to the statistics on China being the largest market, visas and BC offshore schools in China etc. You come across as knowledgeable and credible. Your voice was clear and confident.

So far your pitch has me leaning towards wanting to invest, however I would want to know a bit more to address the following 2 things:

1) What amount of investment is required for this, you indicate there would need to be an outlay for media rich resources however I’m left wondering what this is estimated at?

2) You also mention that University of Massachusetts has the strongest inroads in China; however you do not address why this is or how UBC will specifically address this. A few more details here would have helped me decide how we would take the market away from University of Massachusetts.

I really enjoyed the summary and as an EVA liked the wrap up as it recapped everything nicely and was a very good visual. Well done!

Cathy

Your narrative is laid out and covers all your points; however your technique of reading the screen also had a down side (at least for me)…it left me as your audience slightly disengaged at points, as your eyes seemed to be focusing on reading and hence you were not directly looking into the camera. Your voice is also very clear and easy to listen to. Thanks for posting responses to Tony and Bryon as these helped me to understand the pitch more.

Cathy