This pitch is based on a Kickstarter that makes and sells Makerspace kits for STEAMLabs in schools, homes, and beyond. The founders are very engaging and clearly passionate about their project. I recommend taking a look at this project and all of its local goals, such as having a space for Makerspace activities with children and youth in Toronto and also selling the kits and the designs to people all over the world!
Pitch Pool: STEAMLabs
Posted in Pitch Pool
nstokes1
My name is Nathalie Stokes and I am an elementary school teacher who merges my love of travel with being an educator by working in international schools. I grew up as an expat with my parents in four countries but have mostly lived in Vancouver, BC before studying in Montreal, QC for my undergraduate degree. Most recently I was working as a founding member of Hanoi Toronto School (HTS) which is a Canadian International School in Hanoi, Vietnam. When I worked as a curriculum developer and focused on scaffolding the school culture I realised I wanted to continue my own education, through the MET program at UBC, to be able to help students and schools be as successful as possible.
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Thank you for the information on this project and the link to its pitch.
I was looking into another project that, unfortunately, seemed to be outside of its time of funding and would like to look into this more.
From my stance as a venture capitalist, I would invest in this venture, as it is in STEM Education, which is a subject I would like to see more emphasis on. I also like the project’s approach to making Makerspaces more accessible.
However, I would like to find out its scope of location. My first look through their page showed it was primarily in Toronto, and that is understandable and seems sound to focus on a single location with things needing to be physically there like the Makerspace is. Still, I want to ask them if there are plans to expand to other cities later on or possibly to allow mailing the materials with instructions in the box or digitally allowing for different countries.
Overall, I look forward to this project and want to learn more.
No, I would not invest in this venture. I admire the passion that the two co-founders have for their project, but I was not left with a sense of capability after having watched their pitch. I found the pitch video to be a little dull and not as inspiring as it could have been. Also, I get the sense that their “team” is really just the two of them. Despite having partnered with a social enterprise in Toronto, it doesn’t seem like they have enough of a foothold in the market to be worth betting on. Not only that, the lack of differentiation in their product makes me wary of their mission. A quick Google search came up with many competitors that have established themselves in the market of STEM projects and kits. While I think they have the potential to create a small, local space for kids to create and learn skills through STEM projects, I don’t see this becoming much of a success.