ETEC 522 – September 2012

David Vogt 3:19 pm on September 16, 2012

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Tags: Finance4Lilfe, PPool ( 18 )   

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  Colin 8:02 pm on September 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  No I would not invest in Finance for Life. I would agree that there is a disconnect with what is taught in schools and the skills that are needed for real life which Greg Campbell states is the pain point. My issue with this pitch is that it gave no details of what the solution is or how this would be resolved. There is no differentiation mentioned from other programs that I have seen and I have seen some bad interactive programs. My major reason for not investing is the marketability and the target market. For this product it is geared towards school districts and that they purchase a licensing agreement. In these days of declining funding I see this as a very competitive market. Even if they have $50,000 profit this year it doesn’t mean that the same school districts will sign up again next year. A demo of the product where they can demonstrate a great innovation over other solutions that I have seen might win me over but I don’t believe they can provide this.
  Greg Campbell does do a good job of presenting and laying out his qualifications and what he has been able to achieve. He is too vague on the actual product and I don’t like his limited avenues for selling this product. For this reasons I choose not to invest in Finance for Life.

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  frank 8:43 pm on September 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  No, I would not invest in Finance for life.
  This is a 1 minute video, so it is technically an Elevator pitch, not a Venture pitch.
  Greg’s Pain Point is that there is a gap between what’s taught and what is needed.
  His value proposition is an interactive learning management system where students learn about finance, business management and economics. His Revenue Model is Licensing and contracts with schools. Greg has an education and business background. And from this pitch, I believe that Greg is enthusiastic and sincere about his interest in teaching students greater financial literacy.
  I do agree with Colin’s points that Finance for Life is not quite there yet and still needs some work in better developing their pain-to-solution value proposition and opportunity space.

  From this pitch, we have little idea what the product is and how it actually works. A good interactive learning management system that is both effective and user friendly is in fact likely not simple or easy to develop, and many programs have been developed and tried in this area, with little results or permanence to show for it. How will Finance for Life be different?
  If I were Greg, I would research the Pain point more. I would perhaps contact and survey those engaged in this area, and try to find out from them exactly what pain points are of greatest concern and how Finance for Life might be able to provide a solution to resolve it. The added bonus of this approach is that working with stakeholders to create a solution venture (concept) will likely expand Finance for Life’s access to funding to include institutional sponsors for example. Securing such sources would help Finance for Life’s marketability to schools and education ministries, which are conservative by design when it comes to taking risks on new ventures.

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  Mike Rae 12:33 am on September 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Yes, I would invest in this venture. The pain point is something I have always been aware of since I was a high school student. When taking my Canadian Securities Course more than once I thought to myself, shouldn’t everybody know this stuff?

  I’ve seen the planning 10 curriculum and it is weak. It also seems to be treated as a “throw away course”, not only by students, but by teachers and administration.

  I may have cheated, because I saw another youtube clip with Greg Campbell’s picture after the elevator clip ended and clicked on it. Because his 5 contracts are from the lower mainland, I believe that could entice other provincial school districts to do “what the big boys in the city” are doing.

  Also, I think with my background I could add value to the company. 2 ways that weren’t mentioned in the elevator or venture pitch. 1) Financial climates change every year – Europe debt/mortgage crisis/dot.com booms, etc… so this could be an oportunity to sell schools on “updates” to their curriculum. 2) Workshops for professional development could be another revenue source for teachers of the course.

  Push from higher levels of government than education ministries could be another eventual outcome. Wouldn’t be in the governments best interests to have an employed, entrepenuerial, tax paying citizenship?

  feel free to shoot me down. This is the only one I have said yes to so far.

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  Doug Connery 3:25 pm on September 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  I see good value in a course of this nature. If students don’t get this information in the regular K-12 curriculum then here is an opportunity to provide it to them.

  I work in a post seconadry School ofBbusiness. We redesigned our Business Administration program several years ago and due to curriculum creep over the years, some courses had to go. One of the courses was Personnel Financial Planning. This created huge discusions, arguments and near blood with Faculty during the redesign process and even today. Soon after the course was removed many people realized that perhaps it was a mistake as it not only provided a life skills foundation but it provided a foundation for courses in the four majors in the program: Accounting, Financial Services, management and Marketing. In the new design the course is now only offered to the finacial services majors. I can see a time in the future when it will be added back into the other three majors as a fouindation course.

  Doug.

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    frank 3:08 am on September 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

    Mike and Doug.
    I agree with you. We can all learn more and have better personal financial planning habits.
    The question is how do we get there?
    Should we only teach it to finance majors only? As Doug points out, probably not.
    If we are going to teach it to everyone, should it be taught by teachers, most of whom are already overwhelmed by their course loads, and know little personal finance and economics?
    How do we engage children in this area, for most of whom, money just appears magically, out of the pockets of their parents.
    How do we build an “interactive learning management system” that is fun, keeps up to date, and provides students and teachers simple and accessible tools/programs to help them develop and track their financial skills and competencies over time?
    It is no simple feat and that is why it has not yet been achieved, despite everyone’s recognition that it is an important problem.
    Solving this problem requires real innovation. And I’m not sure exactly how Finance for Life plans to do this.
    Lastly Mike, though your points about the merits of having a financially capable citizenry are well taken, I would not expect answers to come from the government. When was the last time you witnessed education ministries provide cutting edge technological solutions to anything?

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  Shaun Pepper 4:41 am on September 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  I wouldn’t invest in Finance for life. I think the pitch was aimed at some pain points, but it did not have any way of introducing a solution. How are they going to deliver it. WIthout knowing this how can one invest? I think if I was teaching this concept, I would want students to use software and tracking programs that simulated a MINT(http://youtu.be/rK6WLHNYjwM) type of approach. That way they can take the technology with them outside of the classroom and actually use it in their everyday lives. With equipping students with the tools and technology they will use, we allow them to learn 21st century skills that will be relevant to the digital world they are entering.

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  Mike Rae 9:01 pm on September 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  I thought of another reason why this is a decent investment. The CEO clearly knows, at the very least the basics, of business (he teaches it) and incorporated the company. This is pretty valuable. Much different than Kramer on Seinfeld coming up with hair brained schemes to make money ((bladder system for oil tankers, pizza joint where you make your own pie, brazier for men (the “bro” or “manzier”), etc.))…Kramer was spacey and off the wall and thats part of the reason why Jerry always shot down his ideas. not necessarily that the idea was bad, but Kramer might not be the best behind the wheel on the said venture. This guy from finance for life seems like the anti-kramer.

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  Peggy Lawson 2:15 pm on September 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  No, I would not invest with Finance for Life based on the elevator pitch alone, but I might be willing to listen to the venture pitch so I could ask some additional questions. As others have pointed out, the pitchman did a good job of hitting many of the venture pitch points – some personal information about himself as CEO and why we should trust his experience, the market size and location, and the estimated profit – I heard nothing that would differentiate his product from other programs that would make me jump at the offer. Why I would consider investing in his interactive LMS program rather than just having my school division’s own teachers to develop our own interactive course in-house was not addressed.

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  Mike Rae 3:49 am on September 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Because no one can/ will do it