Mingle
A venture in global language learning;
Posted in: Pitch Pool
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David Vogt
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ETEC 522 – September 2012
Ventures in Learning Technology
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Jonathan 7:53 pm on September 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. It isn’t clear what is unique about Mingle or how it would change the world.
After watching the CEO’s pitch, I am uncertain as to what the exact product that Mingle is selling. It appears to be a global language learning tool that allows students to learn online, but it fails to distinguish itself from other language products (ie. Rosetta Stone). It appears that the CEO is competent and mature and that there is some vision but it isn’t obvious in this short pitch.
It is clear that Mingle is targeting the global market but they were unable to describe who their target market was. In addition, no innovative advantages were provided over traditional programs that may be offline in nature. There was no request for specific funding nor how much return an investor would.
There is a vision in this product but it wasn’t clear to me as an EVA what it was.
adi 2:51 pm on September 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. The CEO fails to convey the exact nature of
what she is selling. Is it an e-commerce course or a language course? She does not describe the problem she is addressing, and as a result the solution is not clear. In addition, there’s no mention of how this product is different from what is out there, nor what the market size and share is, or how potential consumers will be reached. In short, her venture concept is not clear. As an EVA, I would not invest in it.
joeltremblay 2:53 pm on September 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with Jonathan. She needs to make it clear exactly what makes her service better than the hundreds, if not thousands of translation services already in existence. After all Translation is one of the oldest skills in existence and her idea is novel, but she doesn’t take pains to differentiate herself from the crowd.
They don’t describe the target market beyond the idea that all people could use help understanding different languages, and unfortunately as mentioned before, don’t explain how they intend their service to be different and more successful than other services. Because heavyweights like Google play in that arena, it might behoove her to attempt any differentiation.
joeltremblay 6:16 pm on September 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
NO, I would not invest in this venture
Mike Rae 12:01 am on September 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture.
Joel, jon and adel, I agree with you as you have covered most of my criticisms. She even asks the question ‘what makes myngle different?’ and her answer was that it brings something traditional (education) to the masses. This seems like the first minute of a longer pitch rather than an elevator pitch. It also feels like it is about 10 years too late.
C. Ranson 4:16 pm on September 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. I agree that it is unclear as to what the venture represents. The founder does mention that Mingle will represent global language learning and that her venture concept is the next step in commerce and targeting the global market, how? It is also unclear how Mingle will make a difference in the world as stated by the founder. Not sure how her venture differs from others and what makes it unique from others ventures and successful.
Ranvir 11:10 am on September 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture as it is not clear what Mingle is (product or service) and how and it blends languages and commerce to ‘make the difference’. She briefly mentions that Mingle would bring traditional education to the masses and allow students to study anytime, anywhere. Seems to align with the generic definition if eLearning and sound a bit vague. The pitch fails to clarify the problem area or market gap and advise how the product/ service will resolve that.
coralk 3:02 pm on September 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Although the presenter is passionate about what she is presenting, I was not moved to invest in her venture for the following reasons:
• The pitch was overly-emotional and repetitive
• The presenter didn’t explain the product – she just said that it would bring education to the whole world but she didn’t explain what it is or how it would do this
• She did not outline the potential market for this product – is it for K-12, college, the general public? Would it sell to institutions (B2B) or to individual consumers (B2C)?
It is a shame because I looked up the website after the pitch, and the company is very interesting. They have won several awards and they have many well known corporate clients. It is an interesting idea, and if you would like to know what they do (since the pitch didn’t really tell us), this is from their website:
Myngle is a fully integrated and global language learning school, amongst the first players to deliver professional one-on-one language tutoring over the net, and now the global leader in its segment.
Myngle is transforming traditional language education by offering hundreds of professional online teachers and courses in a wide variety of languages. Our fully integrated virtual classroom provides students with an interactive, efficient and convenient way of learning or improving a language.
jenbarker 12:32 pm on September 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. Although I like how she is passionate about making a difference, the completeness of her argument just isn’t there. She does provide some information on how there is a market for her company, as well as how it is different than others but needs to explain further. She tries to describe how users around the world can take advantage of her product but I think due to her strong accent which makes it difficult to fully comprehend, it would have been beneficial for her to use a few key slides with some text. This would have helped to convey the explanation of what the product is. I also don’t know who she is marketing too. What is her target audience? I assume it is for adults but coud it also be for children?
I think this product has some potential but based simply on the pitch I would vote no.
Patrick Pichette 12:57 pm on September 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No I would not invest in this venture based on this pitch alone. I would likely need additional information to better understand the business model being pursued. I honestly have no idea what she was even offering as a product during that pitch other than it was a communication related product that allows students to learn anywhere and at anytime. There does appear to be some potential so I may likely ask for additional information but the pitch was not very effective.
pcollins 4:05 pm on September 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Reflecting the sentiments of my classmates, I wouldn’t invest in Mingle. I could not easily distinguish what set it apart from all of the other online language learning tools (babble/speakfish/rosetta). Apart from that I found her pitch to be ultra scripted, and even though she appears to be a competent individual the idea that she was passionate about her product and it’s potential did not come through in her pitch.
kstackhouse 11:42 am on September 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture based on this pitch. There were a lot of questions left in my mind after viewing. As an EVA I was not sure of: What I would be asked to contribute, what the market competition looked like, I needed more information on the CEO and her team? There were just too many things not mentioned in gaining my trust and support.
bryan 2:18 pm on September 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. The CEO of this company is extremely vague and nondescript with regards to what exactly mingle really does.
The CEO is very unclear about how they will bring this language learning people? It appears as though she’s trying to sell the idea of learning languages over the Internet but she really doesn’t tell us how she can do that. The CEO offers very little in regards to specifics of how she will develop, market, and distribute the learning tool mingle. We know very little from her YouTube presentation about any sort of competitive edge or even a venture plan at all. The CEO doesn’t even specifically state what her market audiences. As an EVA, I would not consider investing at this time.
jameschen 5:27 pm on September 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. The presentation is vague because no solid evidence is provided to allow an investor to have a basic understanding of what the venture has to offer. The presenter does not identify the market gap or problem. The only basis for starting this venture is the dream that the presenter has. The presentation does not explain what the product is other than something that will “bring traditional education to the mass online world.” The only reference to the differentiation of the venture is “I believe anybody can make a difference, and Mingle is my difference.”