Want to learn more about Soft Skills? Softiquette is the answer for you! As a portmanteau of “Soft” and “Etiquette”, the venture is designed to improve your social and interpersonal etiquette knowledge. Find out how we are creating new ways to acquire and teach soft skills which are normally absent in traditional education courses through my Venture Pitch.
You can access my (i) Elevator Pitch and (ii) Venture Deck at the following site: https://etec522a3venturepitchjohn.weebly.com
Hi John! I appreciate the level of detail you put into your pitch; the idea of using VR to assist in teaching soft skills at the corporate level is certainly an ingenious one, and I haven’t seen anything quite like it across other e-learning platforms. One aspect that could potentially improve the pitch could be the outlining of a curriculum or planned lessons potential users might participate in; this could help show other potential investors how your product differentiates itself from the competition. Thanks for putting together such a timely and sophisticated pitch!
Hi Brendan, thanks for feedback! I think the most difficult aspect of teaching soft skills is the lack of a concrete example or opportunity for students to develop it as it’s usually influenced by external events/factors. VR in this case seems to be most feasible option though personally I would like to research more into whether there are considerable differences (perhaps on the long term basis) if students interact more in VR than their actual social environment. If the skills are ultimately transferable then I assume it shouldn’t be a problem. I appreciate the suggestions, definitely agree that a curriculum example should be included (it’s also a terrific way to show how the venture is unique!) so I’ll definitely take that into consideration.
Review: Hi John, I really enjoyed your idea for Softiquette and the logo. It seems to be an idea based off of relevant future predictions and the research provided is clear and supportive. I did notice the AI voice in your elevator pitch mispronounces the name of your company however and I didn’t hear anything about you and your background in the elevator pitch which perhaps could be tweaked before submitted to further investors. That being said, the venture pitch was very thorough and I appreciated the easy to read infographics and comparisons between soft and hard skills. I appreciated the idea of linking VR into learning soft skills to reduce social anxiety and stress when learning these as well. It is for these reasons I will recommend you for funding pending you add your name and impressive background to the elevator pitch.
Hi Alexis, thanks for encouraging comments and glad to see you liked the concept. That’s a good catch, actually that was me in the elevator pitch (clearly recorded early in the morning before I had my coffee so I sound like an AI/Megatron haha). I only caught the mispronunciation afterwards along with a weird bug which repeated the “ness” in tediousness after it was uploaded to Youtube. That’s a great suggestion, including my personal background could have made the elevator pitch more impactful and relatable for investors, will keep that in mind if I ever draft up another pitch.
FEEDBACK: John, this is an interesting idea for a venture, and I think something that is probably coming our way soon (perhaps from you!) I’ve spoken with some ‘interview’ researchers in the past and they lamented the same things as your pitch does: it’s hard to PROVE someone has a soft skill. What’s interesting is that these researchers had a similar approach as you do: they would issue a ‘tutorial’ of sorts to gauge an employees soft skills by posing long or short form questions to them, instead of having a direct discussion. The idea that this TYPE of inquiry can demonstrate soft skills adds legitimacy to your venture using them (and I assume other things) to teach. Well done!
Hi Ally, thanks for the feedback and sharing your insight on soft skills, it’s encouraging to see that there’s a general awareness of the common problem across many industries. I agree with your points on being able to gauge a candidate’s soft skill competence through interview questions (it’s kind of like a personality test isn’t it?) but as you mention, yes it’s quite difficult to determine soft skill proficiency on a tangible level. Wow, that’s a very encouraging push, maybe I will consider developing this idea into an actual venture haha. Thanks again!
FEEDBACK: Thank you for the comprehensive venture pitch. I really appreciate how you’ve explained the differentiation between soft and hard skills through words and graphic organizers which make it clear and easy to understand. I totally understand the idea of using a VR environment that can provide the safety and ease for an otherwise anxious scenario and using this space to iron out those kinds of kinks and better prepare someone for the “real thing”. From a very human and psychological point of view, I wonder just how effective this would be. What I mean by that is I wonder if the VR experience you are offering can truly enable a human being to make the jump into a real life scenario. Are there studies about certain types of personalities or a certain predisposition that make the transition more successful for some than others? Can the VR experience replicate a wholistic social experience that can train and condition someone to deal with the realities of in-person human interaction? One of your target markets is teachers/educators. Can this program offer a true (and usually very challenging) experience of what it’s like to engage in classroom management? As a VA, I would like to know more about the research in psychology, how people learn through social interaction via in-person VS XR experiences.
Hi Cindy, thanks for the feedback! Initially I was wondering if the first few slides were slightly too theory/content focused though I’m glad to see it was useful for you. I have the same questions as you regarding whether VR is truly effective in teaching people how to socially function (hopefully it won’t have the opposite effect!) and psychologically, can people adapt quickly between VR/Non VR environments. I appreciate the recommendation, definitely agree that further research is required on this front to determine whether VR can replicate social environments for soft skill training.
FEEDBACK: Hi John. You have identified a well-defined problem and have clearly developed a viable plan to address the problem. The idea of using AI to teach soft skills is intriguing. As a senior high teacher, I see the value in your venture. It is easy to teach those hard skills, but not so easy to teach the soft skills. I am interested in how this would be marketed to the K-12 education sector.
FEEDBACK: Hey John! Great work explaining the problem in depth and providing relevant data. I think a really good idea as I definitly agree that there is a gap in helping people to develop soft skills. The venture was well laid out and provided great information about the market and steps required to success. If I was investing, I would have liked a little more information about the actual product. The descriptions felt a bit vague on the actual product slides with a lot of infomation, so It felt a bit unclear to me about what the actual solution might look like. I think including a tangible example of what a course could look like and how it would be executed would help to make this an even stronger pitch! Great Job!
Hi John,
I really liked your pitch and I think there is a lot of opportunity for growth in that area. Those individuals that have polished soft skills quickly separate themselves in the corporate world. In my previous career as a Senior Banker for a major Canadian bank, it was very apparent why certain individuals achieved success and others struggled to keep pace. Most people in the banking industry possess adequate technical skills, but very few possess exemplary soft skills. Some people that I knew had incredible knowledge of investments and the business world, yet they struggled to connect with clients and deliver that knowledge in a way that resonated with their client base. I believe that VR, AR and XR technologies are a great way for people to practice these skills that can make or break their career. Some people are just naturally gifted in the soft skills area, but with Softiquette, many people can close the gap they have in the soft skills department and level the playing field with their more adept colleagues.