A3 Venture Pitch- The Cultural Calendar by Nathalie Stokes
Have you ever found yourself searching for authentic and meaningful resources for including different cultures in your classroom? Well, look no further than The Cultural Calendar!
Bridging cultural understanding with engaging resources to welcome students of every background into your classroom. This completely customizable AI-based app will send you notifications when your students will be celebrating a holiday and provide you with different resources to be able to include more diverse holidays and students in your classroom.
Follow this link to the Venture Pitch and learn more about it.
Below is the elevator pitch for this venture which is also included on the website.
My guiding question for your feedback is: how do you think this tool could be used in your practice and who could you imagine investing in this venture?
Review
This venture pitch has done a great job on showcasing the need for the cultural calendar. Some strengths I identified were the fact that this is a unique product that has not been created yet there is an educational gap and space for this product which makes it an appealing venture. Along with that the pitch does a great job in showing that not only is there a gap the calendar could fill but there is room in the market and it is continuing to grow.
Something I wondered when going through the pitch is how to get the product out to schools and and implemented into classrooms. This product is unique but teachers are always being marketed to and new things introduced to schools which then eventually turn into a flavour of the week type implementation. I would also want to learn more about how the product is going to be scaled and offered to other provinces in order to continue growing and being profitable.
Overall I like the product and would invest in it. I believe it is a timely and valuable tool to help close a gap that exists in relation to a very important topic.
Hello Meagan,
Thank you for your feedback and I have had the same thought. I initially had a much larger idea for this tool, and will eventually grow it to that level, but I received advice to limit the scope, make it fully functional, and then expand.
One idea I had for marketing would be to create a social media platform where I would post videos and resources for different holidays to advertise those to teachers on a website and then promote the app. As an international teacher, I believe that educators working in other countries would be very interested to use this tool, as well as to collaborate so that educators all over the world can involve their students in the classroom and showcase their holidays.
It would be scaled to basically be a calendar that anyone could benefit from and it connects to the IPCC (an international curriculum) to be able to have these apply to different components of different curricula. This would expand to having assessments or projects that teachers could use toward their learning outcomes.
I started with a narrow scope to be able to flush out the idea more but I have very grand ideas for this tool.
I am happy you appreciated it! I too think it could fill a very important gap in the market.
FEEDBACK:
Seeing your Elevator pitch, I immediately recognized the value of this app for international teachers seeking to acclimate to the culture in which they are teaching. Understanding local festivals and holidays is a way of showing respect for the local culture. I also appreciate the angle of building community. Students respond positively when their culture is acknowledged. While my teaching experience is limited to Hong Kong, with predominantly local students, I can see the potential of this app in serving as a common platform for students of different backgrounds to learn about and celebrate each other’s cultures. This app would have a global reach, which speaks to the scalability of the venture.
Hello David,
Thank you for your feedback! I thought you could relate to teaching outside of Canada and seeing how many teachers do not necessarily think to learn about the cultures they are working within.
“Students respond positively when their culture is acknowledged”- can I please quote you for my website because you articulated my thoughts perfectly!
I would like to say how great your elevator pitch was. It was extremely clear regarding what you were advertising. While the idea is fairly straightforward in its goal, the viewer or potential investor of this can see the benefit immediately. It is not a program that is over complicated. I really liked this project and it is probably my favourite that I have seen. It is something that I think institutions can implement in a short period and be easy for staff to use (meaning that the app is effective). I can see this project being implemented right now in most industries – especially how there is a large focus on diversity lately. Great job. Sam
Hello Sam,
Thank you for your feedback! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to this and I can feel your positivity regarding my idea!
I am actually going to start working on this as a venture soon.
Hello Nathalie,
Your elevator pitch is convincing. Your pitches informed me about a problem that I didn’t know existed. But after going through your work, I see the value of Cultural Calendar. I like your credibility, both in the idea itself and the experience you bring to the table. It might be helpful to elaborate a bit more on your experiences. How can each of your professional experiences bring value to this endeavor? One thing I’m left wondering about is how does Cultural Calendar stand out from existing diversity calendars?
Emma
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback! I definitely agree that expanding on my experiences and including more use cases would be helpful in showing the problem that needs to be solved. Cultural education has become a very important passion of mine and I think tying in my experiences can only be a good thing.
My professional experiences vary from Canadian contexts and also teaching overseas and how we only seem to teach about western Anglo-Saxon holidays, even in countries that do not celebrate them, and many of the resources that we have are very culturally inappropriate and inauthentic. I actually do not currently know of any other cultural calendars on the market. There are holidays that are reminders on Google Calendars and such but they do not provide resources.
Hello Nathalie,
Your venture pitch is very well designed and has such attention to detail. I liked the use of a SWOT analysis of the venture, which gave a clear idea of its pros and cons now and in the future. The market analysis was also well-researched, and the business models seem well thought out, with plans for investment and for building a user base. Your elevator pitch also worked well for motivating the investor.
Given all of these things, from an investor’s perspective, I would invest in this venture. Additionally, from a customer’s perspective, I would join.
Hello Daniel,
Thank you for your feedback! I have been thinking about this venture for a few years so it is so lovely to receive positive feedback. When I get it off the ground I will share it with you!
FEEDBACK
Hi Nathalie,
Great idea for an app. I think that having a more authentic way to recognize diverse holidays and celebrations and days of cultural significance is a great idea. It’s hard to track all of them, and to be able to put a class list into the app with student cultural identities would be a nice way to keep track. Could also put birthdays in there too. Are there privacy issues with doing something like that? How is the data handles re student names and what cultures they are a part of. How do you get that information from the student to begin with and are there any ethical concerns or privacy concerns regarding that?
Wondering what the breakdown is for the $700 000 USD investment? That seems like a lot to get the basic version of the app off the ground for a team of 3 people. How long will it take to develop and roll out such an app do you think? How long until there is a return on the initial investment? Just some random questions I had in my mind while perusing your pitch!
I think there could be some value added if it also integrated some language learning opportunities, or if there was a student version of the app as well to interact with. Perhaps even a web site as well to house downloadable resources, videos, and other content.
Overall awesome idea!
Cheers,
Bradley
Hello Bradley,
Thank you for your feedback!
Privacy is a big concern, obviously, so that is actually a large factor in the development cost. It would have to have the highest levels of security, like any educational tool, so that private information stays within the classroom one of the ways this would be mitigated is through pseudonyms with anything shared publicly, log-ins for schools and all users, and many other factors which I honestly do not know the ins and outs of. For learning about the cultures there would be an email example that teachers could send out to parents with a QR code and log-in code so that they could choose the holidays that their family celebrate, as with many families there could be multiple cultures involved.
If families do not want to participate that is entirely up to them, the teachers could also see which cultures are prevalent in their schools and community and choose to represent those as well.
For the cost breakdown, I actually spoke with someone who is a web developer and they said for a team of 5 and for what needs to be created this is how much it would be and it would probably take about a year. There could obviously be some overlap of roles and maybe with 4 people it would be less, but it would take longer or you hire more people and it launches more quickly so you pay more upfront. For a return on investment, I am not actually sure because of the scale of starting in a smaller market, BC, and then expanding. I think this is something I need to do further research and return to this question.
The language learning opportunities are further ideas that I did not have time to include in this project but there are so many ideas from learning songs that are sung, how people greet each other for those holidays, and many more. Thank you for your suggestions! The resources are a large part of the concept.
Thank you so much for your feedback, it helps to get thinking about next steps.
Hi Nathalie,
This is a well thought out idea with clear parameters of what the functionality and objectives are. It’s a nice idea and perhaps even more useful in rural areas that are ‘new’ to diversity. One thing I think you may also consider including in this app is Indigenous holidays or important days. I like Bradley’s idea above that perhaps the paid model could come with some more downloadable lesson plans, music, videos etc. to go along with those holidays. I felt this was a fun project to read through, very positive. Not sure about the actual business case, but then again, I think it could be made for a lot cheaper than outlined, so perhaps if it could be made for cheaper, there is a profit model there.
Thank you.
Rich
Hello Rich,
Thank you for your feedback! I agree that the cost seems high, but I spoke with someone in the industry and this was the breakdown of the costs. I imagine it can be built for less but it would take longer to make or end up costing the same over a longer period.
I agree with adding additional resources for the paid versions, thank you for the idea.
REVIEW:
Hi Nathalie,
I was very intrigued by this pitch. In my classroom, it’s always a surprise to find out when a student’s birthday is. However, at my school, we are very diverse in the range of cultures. We do our best to try and celebrate the diversity, but I would feel that we do not cover every one. Now that is a battle on it’s own.
With this pitch, I see that this would be a great educational tool for the elementary level. I remember being back in elementary school and my teachers would try to implement some cultural diversity, but they either lacked the resources and possibly the expertise and know-how to do it. Another thing I liked about this pitch was your payment plan. It was clear to see what each option provides and what could be more beneficial than others.
In terms of what I think could strengthen this pitch, I would suggest the following questions.
What I wonder is how this could be invested into the secondary level?
What about the summer months?
Music resources?
In the secondary level, especially as a secondary teacher, I feel it would be another thing to teach on top of my subject level. However, is there a way to connect it to the various secondary curriculum? As school also runs from September to June, I would wonder what holidays we would be missing in the summer months. I understand that this would be a challenge for the classroom. Furthermore, you mention books, videos, activities. Could music be a part of this as music is part of any culture.
All in all, again, I was intrigued by this pitch and I would support this venture. Thank you for putting it together!
Jeremiah
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Yes, I think adding a function for birthday reminders would be very helpful indeed! I agree that this is more targeted towards elementary schools so I will think about how it can be applied to the older grades. I think, off the top of my head, maybe they could implement more of a design model to add to the resources that are offered. Maybe from stories to videos to explain the holidays they celebrate?
Of course music is a large aspect of any culture. Ideally songs and dances that are part of any celebration would be included in the video resources but also different instruments or learning how to sing the words in another language would be amazing.
Your comment about the summer months is very intriguing. It makes me wonder if maybe there could be a function where this app is shared with students and the portfolio that the classroom makes is shared with families and then they receive some of the resources and reminders throughout the summer so that families could continue learning throughout the summer months. Thank you for the suggestions, I sincerely appreciate it!
This is a fantastic idea Nathalie! It is so very relevant and helpful for classroom teachers and anybody who travels, is interested in other cultures … it checks many boxes.
What I really like about your pitch is that it serves to connect people, and in a classroom will engage students in an enormously meaningful way. I would use a tool like this as the foundation of a class, making it a focal point and daily starting place. This could actually serve as the lens through which to view many subject areas, and I’d be fascinated to see a class centred around it. While this is a tech-based venture, its really not about the tech, it’s about the people. Very cool.
Bradley had a good point about extra resources available with the premium – would take additional development and ongoing additions, but well worth it.
Anyways, I’m in. Well done.
Hello Steve,
Thank you for your feedback! I am a little overwhelmed by the positive responses but I am so encouraged to see so many people wanting a tool like this to, like you said, connect people.
It is funny that you say you would use it as a foundation for your class because that was actually my initial idea for my classroom because I do this already to the best of my ability and that is where the idea sparked from.
I’ll share the app when it’s up and ready to go then! Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
FEEDBACK:
Hi Nathalie,
This is an awesome idea and I’m honestly surprised something like this hadn’t already been created! I can see this being increasingly valuable for educators as our classrooms become more diverse over time. I love the idea of making it easier for teachers to meaningfully incorporate cultural diversity into the classroom. The focus on authenticity and inclusion is particularly important. The customizable, AI-based approach sounds promising, as it provides teachers with timely and relevant resources for celebrating diverse holidays. Offering these resources alongside the notifications will enhance the app’s value and make it a powerful tool for fostering a more inclusive learning environment.
Hello Braden,
Thank you very much for your feedback! I completely agree that the purpose is authenticity and inclusion to make teacher lives easier and to connect people together.
I think this could be helpful for so many people outside of education as well.
Hey Nat,
I love this one! Your Cultural Calendar is an excellent resource for promoting diversity and fostering inclusivity within the school environment. All I kept thinking as I watched your pitch was how is this not already a thing? The design not only educates students about different faiths and customs but also encourages mutual understanding among peers and a respect not really spoken about in school settings when it comes to religion or traditions. I would highly recommended for any educational settings that’s committed to promoting cultural awareness and embracing diversity. I’d definitely have your back on this one!
Hello Carlo,
Thank you for your feedback! I know! I was so surprised when I was researching and I could not find anything remotely similar in the educational market. There are reminders with Google calendars and such but it does not have information about the holidays or look at resources in the languages or cultures the holidays emerged from.
I am so happy the true purpose of my venture was apparent. It is really about connection and inclusion which is the core element of any classroom. I will share it with you when it’s off the ground!