rePhrase
A venture introducing the world’s first “text-leveler”:
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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Kent Jamieson 12:23 pm on September 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
After doing a little homework on this particular venture – https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec522sept11/files/2011/11/rephrase-pitch.pdf – I am convinced of this idea and would indeed invest in it.
I’m not sure I would have invested based solely on the CEO himself – or the elevator pitch – but after learning more about his text leveling software I was immediately thinking of the potential for a product like this. There is definitely a need for this innovative and original idea, and although there are reading programs out there that read back books to children, there isn’t a program that actually changes the reading level of a book to help students understand it better. The ‘sliding scale’ gives children the power to find their own independent reading level of books that may be too difficult or easy for them.
rePhrase is targeted for a large group of struggling readers and is focused on dealing with differentiated learning…an idea I feel very passionate about. However, the product could also be marketed towards ESL students as a translation tool. As an educator who is always looking for more efficient ways to differentiate instruction this idea hits home, and as an EVA it would mean I could actively engage in the creation of this venture!
I’m in rePhrase,
Kent
Paula Poodwan 2:42 pm on September 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. Although this elevator pitch displays many important points:
• The elevator pitch is quite interesting with the catchy slides and music.
• It covers some important points such as the pain point that many G.4-12 students in the US fail their grades because they can’t read or write.
• It provides the solution point that rephrase can help.
• The CEO/presenter seems to do his homework with all the numbers he provides.
However, the overall message is not clear I still have no idea of what RePhrase can do to help.
The CEO doesn’t seem enthusiastic in his presentation judging from the way he sits relaxingly with his left arm pointing at the camera.
I believe that If I had spent more time checking out their business plan or listening to his venture pitch, I may be considering investing in this venture. I do like their concept that rephrase will help enhance personalized learning where students can adapt the difficulty of texts to their own level. But I would not invest based on this elevator pitch alone. Sorry, I’m out.
Peggy Lawson 2:45 pm on September 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I would definitely invest a further 8 – 12 minutes of my time with this venture. (I don’t know if I’d every actually invest my money based solely on an elevator pitch!). I feel the pitchman did a very good job of getting me to listen to his concept and plan. Sorry, Paula, but he gained my trust and confidence by looking relaxed and comfortable during the pitch (plus, I recognize there will some limitations in production qualities for pitches we will be creating in this course). I thought he did a very good job identifying the pain point as well as their solution. He identified his market, and with no competition this would provide a real advantage to investors. I don’t part easily with my money and would want to check some of his facts and figures, and would want to bring in my own experts to consider certain aspects of this venture, but the pitchman has won my interest in wanting to hear more.
kstackhouse 1:01 pm on September 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I felt the same way. I could not write a cheque just yet, but I would be willing to look up his company and offer a second meeting. I think the concept or “pain” is real enough that it would be worth listening to anyone that thought they had a solution for this problem.