Now with more kids staying at home, it is certainly someone on parents/guardians’ minds on how to keep kids busy while engaging in meaningful activities. I like NextBmaker Box because it provides kids with the novelty by sending new project each month and there are also online learning course to guide users along. Here’s its page on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/makeblock/nextmaker-box-learn-coding-at-home-with-fun-steam-projects/description
NextMaker Box: Learn Coding at Home with Fun STEAM Projects
5 responses to “NextMaker Box: Learn Coding at Home with Fun STEAM Projects”
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YES, I would invest in this venture.
At this point, my preference would be to go the next step of a business plan. The STEAM toy/gadget market is relatively new and is filled with so many new businesses that my primary concern is competition and differentiation. Additionally, I have a background in STEAM, STEAM toys/gadgets, and education so as an investor I may be able to contribute to its success.
Deconstructing the Pitch
Pain Point/Solution
NextMaker Box satisfies the rising need for STEAM education and does so in a small box that can be done at home.
Differentiation/Competition
*** Missing from the pitch ***
Primary concern of investing
Championship.
They explained the lengthy development process as well as the real life testing. The pitch goes onto explain the team and their successes, awards, and prior projects.
This pitch was targeted to a Kickstarter audience which is somewhere between consumer and investor. The first half of the pitch felt like it was very targeted to the consumer and I lost interest. Ultimately, I wish the pitch focused on more aspects that an investor would want to know such as differentiation, marketing, championship, competition, and the return.
Yes, I would invest in this venture. I am thinking from the perspective of a teacher and administrator who would want to use this as a resource for project-based learning. As an administrator, I would provide funding for teachers to purchase this resource. I love how it combines machine learning where students use their hands to build something AND coding/connection to digital means. The products offered for learning are both hands-on and also provide learning opportunities at the computer. There is also value in how the projects are functional for daily use and special occasions; therefore, become part of a learner’s daily household item. I found that other STEM companies that offer projects often offer products that become additions to the trash bin and long forgotten after its novelty wears off. It provides STEM education that is currently developing, will continue to develop and is needed in the near (and probably) far future e.g. Data Science.
Yes, I would invest in this venture. There are many products and services which aim to teach coding and problem solving skills to young learners. I have not come across others which send a monthly project kit to the learner, which sets this one apart from others. I see the value of this product both for teachers in school and parents at home. There is also a benefit to having hands-on kits for building and online coding practice. The company appears to have a solid history and foundation upon which to build this venture. The awards mentioned may speak to the competency of the leaders, even though they are not mentioned in this pitch. In order to fully commit to investing in this venture, I would require more information regarding how much investment they are looking for and what they project the return to be.
Yes, I would invest in this venture. As an EVA and a K-5 STEM teacher I see the immense potential and value in this subscription coding/robotics venture. I found the video pitch to be clear, concise and left me with a strong understanding of what the product is, who they are targeting and a broad overview of the business model. What I particularly like about this venture, from the standpoint of an EVA, is the subscription basis. This model creates the potential for ongoing revenue from customers as they receive more subscription boxes. While I see this venture having strong potential with the home market, through parent purchasing, I think it would struggle within the formal education market. This is due to the fact that in order to successfully integrate the box projects into the classroom of 25 students, a teacher would need to have many subscriptions. This would also require teachers to have access to the funds to purchase the subscription. I can think of the headaches it might cause when a subscription is up for renewal and a teacher is seeking the approval to renew. If I was to invest in this venture I would attempt to steer the company to develop a separate model for schools/educators that includes sets and planned lessons as a bundled purchase, rather than a subscription model.
Yes, I would invest in this venture. These at-home maker products really grew over covid when students needed to be doing lots of learning at home. Since the video was posted, many other services have popped up with similar missions and goals. The subscription feature makes it really easy for families to get new products and try new challenges without the hassle of trying to find them in-store. I think this appeals to a lot of families who are looking to teach their children STEM skills with approachable tech. The most obvious challenge with this product is the competitive and saturated market of at-home STEAM kits for kids. With other competitors also entering this market, it’s not clear how Nextmaker will stay competitive and continue to lead the market.