Welcome to the web platform that brings technology companies, educators, and students to the table together. Can you imagine what could come of having our next generation leaders, their guides and teachers, sitting with the best development and engineering teams this world has to offer? The tools and resources that would come of this exchange are astounding. This one platform allows school boards to have confidence in cutting edge digital tools because their own students and teachers were apart of the design process. It allows the boards to be at the forefront of these new tools and resources, and to be able to provide direct feedback to the companies responsible for them. For a return on their investment tech companies have the opportunity for easy access to focus groups, immediate feedback loops and low-cost marketing. Welcome to Co Lab Education, a CaaS, Collaboration as a Service. Built by educators, for educators.
Co Lab Education Venture Pitch
FEEDBACK: Hi Kyle, thank you for this OER. Well done. I really liked how you have applied your industry knowledge and expertise, in particular around lean operations to this venture. As an investor, it gives me the extra assurance that I’m looking for. Having said this, I wasn’t able to see what market share your venture is aiming for? The OER lists the three (3) main competitors (Nynja, Slack, and MatterMost), however, it does not specify who the market leader is, and what percentage of market share each one holds.
Hi Kyle! Thanks for exploring an interesting premise: that students can play a more active role in designing the technology they (and their teachers) use. I think your pain point analysis effectively conveyed how your platform could close the gap between consumers (students), the customer (teachers) and designers. The greatest potential improvement I could see would be in the ROI, as you did outline the ask in detail, but I didn’t see how investors would quantitatively benefit beyond the more qualitative benefits of monetization of platform technologies and the eventual transition to a paid subscription model. Nevertheless, I think this sort of student-cenetered technology design will indeed be critical to effective educational technology platforms in the future, so I hope to see more companies take on these practices! Cheers!
FEEDBACK: This is an interesting idea, Kyle. It sounds like the student and teacher can create a micro-project that is quick. I anticipate cross-cultural relationships and the need for understanding since your venture is global and individuals can collaborate with anyone in the world. School curriculum vastly differs from province to province, let alone country to country; not to mention language differences. Some important questions I have as a VA (and educator): How will these issues be addressed? What are the online safety measures that would be implemented to protect young learners who are using this platform? In your elevator pitch, the student is an 8 year old. This is a pretty young age for a student to arrange to meet with two other potential adults. Thanks again, Kyle, for this neat idea.
REVIEW: Kyle, your pitch is excellently done and hits on what I consider to be one of the huge pain points in education: a lack of expertise. As education explodes into so many different fields, suddenly the teacher (& their administrative support system) is straddled with an insurmountable amount of information to know, and few experts to turn to that can assist. How often do educators think “Someone, somewhere, would know how to do this, but I sure don’t!” This recognition and connection of experts to solve grass roots conundrums is why I think Co Lab is an excellent venture worthy of investment. I can also FEEL your operational and logistic background/skills in this pitch which inspires a lot of confidence in success. You have also nicely articulated the market that this venture dives into. One thing that I think could strengthen your pitch is a real world example of a “success story” (even a fake one). What sorts of things could be developed by Co Lab, what is realistic? I’d be curious to see an example of Co Lab in action!
FEEDBACK: This is an interesting venture, bringing educators together with tech developers. It is rare that teachers have the opportunity to give feedback on potential tools for the classroom. It does seem costly for most schools, so I can see why you are starting with private schools as a target for your venture.
Hi Kyle,
Excellent OER and I would invest in the venture. There is a significant gap between tech developers and educators. But, Co-Lab Education brings all stakeholders together, including students who don’t usually have input in these decisions. I also particularly like that all groups have the opportunity to engage and learn from each other. Teachers and tech developers will also begin a dialogue that does not occur too often. Students will begin developing skills that will be beneficial in the long run. Do you foresee your venture eventually expanding to higher education? Great concept!